
I 



\ 




CH C 
Librairie Am 
17. Quai de- 




TKADE AND TRAVEL 

IN THE 

FAR EAST; 

OR 

RECOLLECTIONS OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS 

PASSED IN 

JAVA, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA, 
AND CHINA. 



BY G. F. DAVIDSON. 



LONDON: 

MADDEN AND MALCOLM, 

LEADENHALL STREET. 

1846. 




'0 9- 




LONDON : 

PRINTED BY MADDEN AND MALCOLM, 
8 LEADENHALL STREET. 



PREFACE. 



The following pages were written to beguile the 
tediousness of a long voyage from Hong Kong to 
England, during the spring and summer of 1844. 
When I state, that the whole was written with the 
paper on my knee, for want of a desk, amid continual 
interruptions from three young children lacking 
amusement during their long confinement on ship- 
board, and with a perpetual liability to be pitched to 
leeward, paper and all, — I shall have said enough to 
bespeak from every good-natured reader a candid 
allowance for whatever defects may attach to the 
composition. It is necessary, however, that I should 
also premise, that the sketches are drawn entirely 
from memory, and that the incidents referred to in 
the earlier chapters, took place some twenty years 
ago. That my recollection may have proved treache- 
rous on some minor points, is very possible ; but, 
whatever may be the merits or demerits of the work 
in other respects, it contains, to the best of my know- 
ledge and belief, nothing but truth in the strictest 
sense of that term ; and, as imbodying the result of 
my own personal observations in the countries visited, 



PREFACE. 



it may possess an interest on that account, not al- 
ways attaching to volumes of higher pretensions. 

My wanderings have been neither few nor short, 
and, perhaps, verify the old proverb, that a rolling 
stone gathers no moss. I have crossed the Ocean in 
forty different square-rigged vessels ; have trod the 
plains of Hindostan, the wilds of Sumatra, and the 
mountains of Java ; have strolled among the beauti- 
ful hills and dales of Singapore and Penang ; have had 
many a gallop amid the forests and plains of Aus- 
tralia ; have passed through the labyrinth of reefs 
forming Torres' 1 Straits ; and have visited the far- 
famed Celestial Empire. My first idea, in endeavour- 
ing to retrace my journeyings and adventures, was, 
that the personal narrative might serve to amuse a 
circle of private friends. But the notices relating to 
the openings for Trade in the Far East, and to the 
subject of Emigration, together with the free stric- 
tures upon the causes of the recent depression in our 
Australian colonies, will, I venture to hope, be not 
unacceptable to those who are interested in the exten- 
sion of British commerce, and in the well-being of the 
rising communities which form an integral part of 
the mighty Empire now encircling the Globe. 

Some parts of the work refer to coming events as 
probable, which have since become matters of fact ; 
but I have not deemed it necessary to suppress or 
to alter what I had written. I am more especially 



PREFACE. 



Ill 



happy to find that my suggestions respecting Borneo 
have, to some extent, been anticipated ; and that the 
important discovery of its coal-mines has been taken 
advantage of by Her Majesty's Government in the 
very way pointed out in observations written at sea 
fifteen months ago. Since my arrival in England, I 
have learned also, that the feasibility of the naviga- 
tion of Torres 1 Straits from west to east, has struck 
others more competent to form a correct judgment 
than myself. Captain T. Blackwood, commander of 
Her Majesty's ship, Fly, at present employed in sur- 
veying the coast of New Holland, the Straits, and 
parts adjacent, has expressed his determination, after 
refitting at Singapore, to endeavour to enter the 
Pacific Ocean, during the north-west monsoon, by 
sailing through Torres' Straits from the westward. I 
trust that this enterprising Officer will succeed in the 
attempt, and thereby put beyond question the practica- 
bility of the passage ; which would not only shorten the 
distance between Australia and our Indian territories, 
but contribute, more than any thing else could do, to 
facilitate the transit of the Overland Mail to Sydney. 
The Australians, I find, are still sanguinely bent upon 
discovering an overland route from the present fron- 
tiers of the Colony to Port Essington ; but, although 
I heartily wish them success, my opinion, as expressed 
in the subsequent pages, remains unaltered. 

I observe, that the Singaporeans are already com- 



iv 



PREFACE. 



plaining of the decrease of the number of square- 
rigged vessels that have visited their port during the 
recent season, and of the falling-off of the Chinese- 
junk trade, which they correctly attribute to the 
opening of the trade with China ; thereby verifying 
my predictions. I fear that they will have still greater 
cause for complaint before twelve months shall have 
rolled away. But the merchants of Singapore, it 
gives me pleasure to add, are taking advantage of the 
times, by entering upon the China trade, and seem 
determined not to suffer loss, if they can help it, by 
the effect of Sir Henry Pottinger's famous Treaty. 
This is as it should be. 

With these few remarks on the motives which have 
induced me to write and give to the world the follow- 
ing sketches, I now commit them to their fate ; trusting 
that they may serve to beguile an hour, to some of my 
numerous friends in the different parts of the world 
they refer to, and that, to the reader unacquainted 
with those countries, they may prove both useful 
and entertaining. Before taking leave of the reader, 
however, I must apologize for an unfortunate error 
my printer has fallen into, (at p. 3 note *), in mis- 
printing the name of Mr. Mercus, one of the best 
men that ever ruled a Colony, whether Dutch or En- 
glish. This name has been converted into Minns ; 
and the error was not detected, till the sheet had 
passed through the press. 



PREFACE. 



V 



As for the critics. — for any kind or friendly re- 
marks they may make, I shall feel grateful; while 
any of a contrary nature will neither surprise nor 
displease me. 

Hull, January 1846. 



CONTENTS. 



PREFACE P. 1 

CHAPTER I. 
JAVA. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA NARROW POLICY OF 

THE GOVERNMENT DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND 

NEIGHBOURHOOD ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM STATE 

OF SOCIETY CLIMATE AND SEASONS TROPICAL FRUITS. 1 

CHAPTER II. 
JAVA. 

SAMARANG A TIGER FIGHT JAVA PONEYS EXCURSION 

TO SOLO WILD SPORTS DJOCKDJOCARTA REMAINS OF 

THE ANCIENT PALACE IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS EXPERI- 
MENT IN INDIGO-PLANTING JAVANESE EXECUTION A 

PET BOA — ALLIGATORS — FOREST LABOUR SLAVERY IN 

JAVA OPIUM-SMOKING TEA — THE UPAS-TREE 16 

CHAPTER III. 
SINGAPORE. 

ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE CULTIVATION 

OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT ROADS AND SCENERY 

MOTLEY POPULATION EUROPEAN RESIDENTS CHI- 
NESE EMIGRANTS KLINGS SAMPAN-MEN PLACES OF 

WORSHIP TIGERS.. 39 

CHAPTER IV. 
SINGAPORE. 

TRADE OF SINGAPORE — CHINESE TRADERS BUGIS TRADERS 

— SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE ARAB SMUGGLERS 

BORNEO TRADE WITH CALCUTTA COMMERCIAL PRO- 
SPECTS 53 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 
DUTCH SETTEMENTS. 

DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO ISLAND OF BANCA BEN- 

COOLEN PADANG CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE NATIVE 

TRIBES OF SUMATRA PEPPER TRADE 73 

CHAPTER VI. 
MALACCA AND PENANG .... 94 

CHAPTER VII. 
CALCUTTA. 

FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA STATE OF SOCIETY MERCAN- 
TILE CHANGES UNPLEASANT CLIMATE SIGHTS AT AND 

NEAR CALCUTTA IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT AND 

NAVIGATION CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE PILOT SERVICE 

CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES RIVER STEAMERS . . 101 

CHAPTER VIII. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY — PORT JACKSON 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY THE PUB- 
LIC-HOUSE NUISANCE SYDNEY JURIES CATTLE-DEAL- 
ERS TOWN IMPROVEMENTS LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND 

CLERGY , 117 

CHAPTER IX. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

TOWNSHIP OF MAI TL AND THE PATERSON DISTRICT WIN- 
TER SPORTS — THE KANGAROO AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY 

CONVICT SERVANTS BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN 

OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY THE HOT SEASON 12S 

CHAPTER X. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

BUSH-RANGERS THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9 THE SETTLER^ 

TROUBLES — ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA — ABORIGINAL 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

THE HOT "WINDS PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY TO 

PORT ESSINGTON SHEEP-FARMS GRAZING IN AUSTRA- 
LIA — HORSE-STOCK 155 

CHAPTER XII. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES CONDUCT OF THE 

BANKS MANIA FOR SPECULATION LONG- ACCOUNT 

SYSTEM BAD SEASONS 169 

CHAPTER XIII. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING HINTS TO THE 

COLONISTS FUTURE PROSPECTS 182 

CHAPTER XIV. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY DISAPPOINTMENT OF 

EMIGRANTS CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH 

EMIGRANTS AYAILABLENESS OF CHINESE LABOURERS 

AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY TORRES' STRAITS THE 

BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS — BOTANY BAY PASSAGE 

FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA 195 

CHAPTER XV. 
CHINA. 

DESCRIPTION OF MACAO ITS MONGREL POPULATION 

FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES PIRACIES COMPRADORE 

SYSTEM PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE MARKET OF MACAO 

NUISANCES — SIR HENRY POTTINGER's REGULATION DE- 
FENDED ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE, AND 

ITS RESULT BOAT-GIRLS BEGGARS PICTURESQUE 

SCENERY 216 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
CHINA. 

ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG THE OPIUM 

TRADE IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF 

A FRESH WAR CHUSAN HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE 

CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY RAPID PROGRESS OF 

THE SETTLEMENT PICTURESQUE SCENERY MARKETS 

SANATORY HINTS 237 

CHAPTER XVII. 

CHINA. 

FIRST VIEW OF CANTON DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN 

QUARTER HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE COM- 
MERCIAL PROSPECTS OF CANTON AMOY FOO CHOW 

NINGPO SHANG-HAE MR. MED HURST RESULTS OF 

THE TREATY WITH CHINA 266 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE 

SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES NEW SETTLEMENT ON 

THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO IMPORTANT DIS- 
COVERY OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST CON- 



CLUDING REMARKS 287 



APPENDIX I. 

PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS 
(i.e. THEIR CONVEYANCE FROM SUEZ Vld CEYLON 

to hong kong direct) 299 

APPENDIX II. 

MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOKES SETTLEMENT 

ON THAT ISLAND 391 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 

IN THE 

FAR EAST. 



CHAPTER I. 

JAVA. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA — NARROW POLICY OF THE 
GOVERNMENT DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND NEIGH- 
BOURHOOD ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM STATE OF 

SOCIETY — CLIMATE AND SEASONS — TROPICAL FRUITS. 

Early in the year 1823, I left England, quite a 
youngster, full of life and spirits, bound for that so- 
called grave of Europeans, Batavia. Of my passage 
out, I shall say nothing more, than that it lasted 
exactly five months, and was, in point of wind and 
weather, similar to nine-tenths of the voyages made 
to the same region. 

Well do I remember the 5th of October 1823, the 
day on which I first set foot on the lovely and mag- 
nificent island of Java. How bright were then my 
prospects, surrounded as I was with a circle of 
anxious friends, who were not only able, but willing 

B 



2 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



also, to lend me a helping hand, and who now, alas ! 
are, to a man, gone from me and all to whom they 
were dear. I was then prepared — I might say de- 
termined — to be pleased with every thing and every 
body. At this distance of time, I can scarcely re- 
member what struck me most forcibly on landing ; 
but I have a vivid recollection of being perfectly 
delighted with the drive, in a light airy carriage 
drawn by two spirited little Java poneys, from the 
wharf to the house of the friend with whom I was to 
take up my abode. The pluck with which those two 
little animals rattled us along quite astonished me ; 
and the novel appearance of every thing that met 
the eye, so bewildered and delighted me, that I 
scarcely knew how to think, speak, or act. 

What a joyous place was Batavia in those days, 
with every body thriving, and the whole town alive 
and bustling with an active set of merchants from 
all parts of the world ! The Dutch Government, at 
that time, pursued a more liberal system than they 
have of late adopted; and, instead of monopolizing 
the produce of the Island, sold it by public auction 
regularly every month. This plan naturally attracted 
purchasers from England, the Continent of Europe, 
and the United States of America, who brought with 
them good Spanish dollars to pay for what they pur- 
chased; so that silver money was as plentiful in 
Netherlands India, in those days, as copper doits have 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



3 



since become. The enlightened individual who now 
governs Java* and its dependencies, is, I have good 
reason to think, opposed to the monopolizing system 
pursued by his Government: his hands, however, 
are tied, and he can only remonstrate, while the 
merchants can but pray that his remonstrances may 
be duly weighed by his superiors. Java exports one 
million peculs'f of coffee per annum, one million 
peculs of rice, and one million peculs of sugar ; be- 
sides vast quantities of tin, pepper, hides, indigo, &c. 
Were its trade thrown open to fair competition, as 
formerly, it is as certain that His Majesty the King 
of the Netherlands would be a gainer, as that his 
adopting the more liberal system would give satis- 
faction to every mercantile man connected in any 
way with his East-Indian possessions. The expe- 
rience of the last three years ought to have taught 
His Majesty this lesson ; and we may hope he will 
take warning from the miserable result of his private 
speculations during that period. 

Batavia is not the unhealthy place it has been 
usually deemed. The city itself is certainly bad 
enough ; but no European sleeps a single night in it 
out of a twelvemonth. 

From four to five o'clock every evening, the road 

* 1845. His Excellency Mr. Minns, since dead, 
t A pecul is a Chinese weight used all over the Eastern Archi- 
pelago, and is equal to 133^- lbs. avoirdupoise. 

b 2- 



4 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



leading: from the town to the suburbs is thronged 
with vehicles of all descriptions, conveying the 
merchants from their counting-houses to their coun- 
try or suburban residences, where they remain till 
nine o'clock the next morning. These country resi- 
dences are delightfully situated to the south of Ba- 
tavia, properly so called, extending inland over many 
square miles of country. Every one of them has a 
garden (called here a compound) of considerable 
extent, well stocked with plants, shrubs, and trees, 
which serve to give them a lively and elegant ap- 
pearance, and to keep them moderately cool in the 
hottest weather. Servants 1 wages being very low 
here, every European of any respectability is enabled 
to keep up a sufficient establishment, and to repair 
to his office in his carriage or hooded gig, in which 
he may defy the sun. Many of them, particularly 
Dutchmen, have an imprudent practice of driving in 
an open carriage, with an umbrella held over their 
heads by a native servant standing on the foot- 
board behind his master. 

Having resided several years in the suburbs of 
Batavia, I have no hesitation in saying, that, with 
common prudence, eschewing in toto the vile habit 
of drinking gin and water whenever one feels thirsty, 
living generously but carefully, avoiding the sun's 
rays by always using a close or hooded carriage, and 
taking common precautions against wet feet and 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



5 



damp clothing, a man may live — and enjoy life, too — 
in Batavia, as long as he would in any other part of 
the world. Many people may think this a bold as- 
sertion ; nevertheless, I make it without fear of con- 
tradiction from any one acquainted by experience 
with the country. 

One great and invaluable advantage over all our 
Eastern Colonies, Batavia, in common with every 
part of Java, possesses, in the facilities that exist for 
travelling from one part of the Island to another. 
* Throughout Java, there are excellent roads, and on 
every road a post establishment is kept up ; so that 
the traveller has only to apply to the post-master of 
Batavia, pointing out the road he wishes to travel, 
and to pay his money according to the number of 
miles : he obtains, with a passport, an order for four 
horses all along his intended line of route, and may 
perform the journey at his leisure, the horses, coach- 
men, &c. being at his command night or day, till he 
accomplishes the distance agreed for. Thus, a party 
going overland from Batavia to Samarang, a distance 
of three hundred miles, may either perform the 
journey in three days, or extend it to three weeks, 
should they wish to look about them, and to halt a 
day or two at various places as they go along. In 
no part of British India is there any thing ap- 
proaching to such admirable and cheap facilities for 
travelling. And what an inestimable blessing they 



G 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



are to the Batavian invalid, who can thus, in a few 
hours, be transported, with perfect ease and comfort, 
into the cool and delightful mountainous regions of 
Java, where he may choose his climate, by fixing 
himself at a height varying from one thousand to 
seven thousand feet above the level of the sea ! Java, 
from east to west and from north to south, is a 
favourite region with me, and, I believe, with every 
Englishman who ever visited it. Gin and brandy 
have killed five-sixths of all the Europeans who have 
died in Batavia within the last twenty years ; but 
with pleasure I can add, that this destructive habit 
has almost entirely disappeared: hence the dimi- 
nished number of deaths, and the more robust and 
ruddy appearance of the European inhabitants. The 
surrounding country is both salubrious and beau- 
tiful, rising gradually as you proceed inland, till you 
reach Buytenzorg, forty miles S.S.E. of Batavia, 
where the Governor-General of Netherlands India 
generally resides, in a splendid palace, surrounded 
with extensive and magnificent gardens. The cli- 
mate is cool and pleasant, more particularly in the 
mornings and evenings, and the ground is kept 
moist by daily showers ; for it is a singular fact, that 
scarcely a day in the year passes without a shower 
in this beautiful neighbourhood. 

Buytenzorg is a favourite resort of the merchants 
of Batavia, who take advantage of the facilities for 



IN THE FAR EAST. 7 

travelling to visit it on the Saturday afternoon, re- 
maining the whole of Sunday, and returning to town, 
and to the renewal of their labours, on the following 
morning. The scenery is magnificent ; and the view 
(well known to every visiter) from the back verandah 
of the inn, is the finest that can be imagined. Stand- 
ing on the steps of this verandah, you have, imme- 
diately under your foot, an extensive plain, tho- 
roughly cultivated, sprinkled with villages, each vil- 
lage being surrounded with evergreen trees, and the 
whole almost encircled by a river. To the left of 
this valley rises an extensive and picturesque moun- 
tain, cultivated almost to the summit, and dotted 
here and there with villages and gentlemen's houses. 
Looking into the valley at early morn, you will see 
the lazy buffalo, driven by an equally indolent 
ploughman, dragging a Lilliputian plough through 
the slimy paddy-field ; the lazy Javanese labourer 
going to his work in the field ; the native women 
reaping, with the hand only, and stalk by stalk, the 
ripe paddy (rice) in one field, while those in the 
next are sowing the seed; the adjoining fields 
being covered with stubble, their crops having been 
reaped weeks before. Upon the declivity of the 
mountain is seen the stately coffee-tree, the planta- 
tions of which commence about 1300 feet above the 
level of the sea, and proceed up the hill till they 
reach the height of 4000 feet. Nothing can be more 



8 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



beautiful than a full-grown coffee-plantation: the 
deep green foliage, the splendid bright-red berry, 
and the delicious shade afforded by the trees, render 
those spots altogether fit for princes ; and princely 
lives their owners lead. One is always sure of a 
hearty welcome from these gentlemen, w r ho are 
ever glad to see a stranger. They give him the 
best horse in the stable to ride, the best room in the 
house to occupy, and express regret when his visit 
is drawing to a close. I speak from experience, 
having put the hospitality of several of them to the 
test. 

During my first stay at Batavia, from 1823 to 
1826, the celebrated Java war broke out, the so-called 
rebel army being headed by a native Chief of Djock- 
djocarta, named Diepo Nogoro. Shortly after the 
first outbreak, the then Governor-General, Baron 
Vander Capellen, called on all Europeans between 
the ages of sixteen and forty-five to serve in the 
schuttery, or militia. An infantry and a cavalry 
corps were formed, and I joined the latter, preferring 
a ride in the evening to a walk with a fourteen-pound 
musket over my shoulder. After a probation of 
pretty tight drilling, we became tolerable soldiers, 
on "nothing a day and finding ourselves," and had 
the good town of Batavia put under our charge, the 
regular troops being all sent away to the scene of 
war. As I do not intend to return to the subject, 



IN THE FAIt EAST. 



9 



I may as well mention here, that the war lasted five 
years, and that it would have lasted five years longer, 
had Diepo Nogoro not been taken prisoner — I fear by 
treachery. I saw him landed at Batavia, in 1829, 
from the steamer which had brought him from Sa 
marang. The Governor's carriage and aides-de- 
camp were at the wharf to receive him. In that 
carriage he was driven to gaol, whence he was ba- 
nished no one knows whither; and he has never 
since been heard of. Such is the usual fate of Dutch 
prisoners of state ! Diepo Nogoro deserved a better 
fate. He was a gallant soldier, and fought bravely. 
Poor fellow ! how his countenance fell — as well it 
might — when he saw where the carriage drew up ! 
He stopped short on putting his foot on the pave- 
ment, evidently unwilling to enter the gloomy- 
looking pile ; cast an eager glance around ; and, 
seeing there was no chance of escape, walked in. 
Several gentlemen followed, before the authorities 
had the door closed, and saw the fallen chief, with his 
two wives, consigned to two miserable-looking rooms. 
Java has been quite tranquil ever since. 

The society of Batavia, at the time I am referring 
to, was both choice and gay ; and the influence of my 
good friends threw me at once into the midst of it. 
The Dutch and English inhabitants did not then 
(nor do they now) mix together so much as would, 
in my opinion, have been agreeable and mutually 
b 3 



10 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



advantageous. A certain jealousy kept the two par- 
ties too much apart. Nevertheless, I have been 
present at many delightful parties in Dutch families, 
the pleasures of which were not a little heightened 
by the presence of some ten or a dozen charming 
Dutch girls. Charming and beautiful they certainly 
are while young ; but, ere they reach thirty, a mar- 
vellous change comes over their appearance: the 
fair-haired, blue-eyed, laughing romp of eighteen 
has, in that short period of ten or twelve years, 
become transformed into a stout and rather elderly- 
looking matron, as unlike an English woman of the 
same age as one can well fancy. When I look back 
on those gay and pleasant parties, and think how 
few of the individuals who composed them are now 
alive, the reflection makes me sad. What a different 
class its English inhabitants of the present day are 
from those of 1823 — 1826 ! I may be prejudiced in 
favour of the former state of society ; but, in giving 
the preference to it, I shall be borne out by any of 
the few survivers who knew Batavia at both periods. 
From 1823 to 1835, the Governors parties were 
thronged with our countrymen and countrywomen. 
Let any one enter His Excellency's ball-room now- 
a-days, and he will not meet with more than one or 
two English of the old school, and not one of the 
new. The causes of this change are obvious: it 
arises from the different class of people that now 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



11 



come out from Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, 
compared with the British merchant of former times, 
and from the total deficiency of the most common 
civility, on the part of our countrymen, towards the 
many highly respectable, agreeable, and intelligent 
Dutch families that form the society of the place. 
It is with pain I write this ; but, as a citizen of the 
world, who has seen a good deal of life, in recording 
my sentiments on these matters, I cannot avoid 
telling the plain truth as it struck me from personal 
observation. 

The vicinity of Batavia affords the most beautiful 
drives ; and hundreds of vehicles, from the handsome 
carriage and four of the Member of Council to the 
humble buggy of the merchant's clerk, may be seen 
every evening, from five till half-past six, that being 
the coolest and best time for taking out-of-door 
exercise. The roads are excellent, lined on both 
sides with trees, which keep them shaded and cool 
nearly all day. The scene is altogether gay, and 
affords a gratifying indication of the wealth and im- 
portance of this fine colony. By seven o'clock, the 
drives are deserted ; and, immediately afterwards, 
lights may be seen glittering in every dwelling in 
the neighbourhood, while, in every second or third 
house, the passer-by may observe parties of pleasure 
assembling for the evening. The Dutch have adopted 
the social plan of exchanging friendly visits in the 



12 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



evening, avoiding our more formal ones of the 
morning. At these chance evening parties (if I may 
so term them), the company are entertained with 
music and cards, and other diversions ; and should 
the visiter be too old to join the young folks in their 
gayety, he will find one or two of his own standing 
snugly seated in the far corner of the verandah, 
where he is sure to be supplied with a good cigar 
and the very best wine. These groupes are per- 
fect pictures of comfort and content. With all his 
good qualities, however, " John Dutchman " is jealous 
of " John Bull," and cannot help shewing it, parti- 
cularly in commercial matters. How short-sighted 
his policy is, in this point of view, it would be no 
difficult task to prove. 

The pleasantest months of the year, in Batavia, 
are, June, July, and August, when the sun is to the 
northward. I have frequently found a blanket ne- 
cessary at this season : indeed, the nights, through- 
out Java, are generally sufficiently cool to allow the 
European to enjoy a refreshing sleep, after which he 
will find no difficulty in getting through a hot day. 
The public health is generally very good from May 
till September inclusive. In April and October, 
strangers, particularly the recently arrived Euro- 
pean, are apt to suffer from colds and fever, caused, 
in a great measure, by the breaking- up of the 
monsoon, which takes place in those months. In 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



13 



November or December, the north-west monsoon 
brings on the rains, which certainly then come down 
in torrents, and render the city of Batavia a perfect 
charnel-house for those poor Natives and Chinese 
who are unfortunately compelled to remain in it* 
I have seen it entirely flooded with water, to the 
depth of four or five feet in some parts. The mal- 
aria occasioned by the deposit of slimy mud left all 
over the town by the water, on its retiring, causes 
sad havoc among the poorer Chinese and Malays, 
who reside in the lowest parts of the town, and inha- 
bit wretched hovels. These floods seldom annoy the 
inhabitants of the suburbs ; yet I well remember, in 
the season of 1828, a friend of mine lay down on a 
sofa and went to sleep, about eight o'clock in the 
evening : at three next morning, he awoke with the 
water just reaching his couch, much to his surprise 
and no small alarm, till, on becoming collected, he 
bethought him of the cause. The neighbouring 
river had risen, from mountain rains, whilst he was 
asleep, and had completely flooded his house, to the 
depth of eighteen inches, together with the garden 
and neighbourhood. 

I know no market, east of the Cape of Good Hope, 
better supplied with fruit than that of Batavia. 
Among the choicest, I would name the mangistan, the 
durian, and the pumaloe or shaddock. The first is un- 
known beyond eight degrees from the Equator, and 



14 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



is, perhaps, the best fruit with which nature has 
blessed the tropical regions. It is about the size of 
an orange, its rind of a dark purple, and its pulp 
divided into parts like the contents of an orange, as 
white as driven snow. Its taste I cannot attempt to 
describe, knowing nothing to which I can compare 
it. The best quality of the mangistan is its perfect 
harmlessness. The patient suffering from fever, 
liver complaint, consumption, or any of the nume- 
rous ills that flesh is heir to, may, with perfect impu- 
nity, cool his parched tongue with a dozen of this 
delightful fruit ; and no one who has not been laid 
on a sick bed within the tropics, can appreciate this 
blessing. The rind, when dried, and made into tea, 
is an excellent tonic, and is often successfully used 
in cases of dysentery, by Native as well as European 
practitioners. The durian is a favourite fruit with 
most people who can overcome its smell, which cer- 
tainly is no very easy matter. Natives of all classes 
are passionately fond of this fruit, and almost subsist 
on it when in plenty. Strange to say, goats, sheep, 
poultry, and even the royal tiger, eagerly devour 
the durian, of which I confess myself, notwithstand- 
ing the aforesaid smell, an admirer, in common with 
many of my countrymen. Its size is that of a cocoa- 
nut, husk and all ; its rind is very thick, of a pale 
green colour, and covered with strong sharp thorns ; 
its interior is divided into compartments, each 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



15 



of which contains three or four seeds about the 
size of a pullet's egg ; these seeds are covered, to 
the thickness of a quarter of an inch, with a pale 
yellow pulp, which is the part eaten. The taste 
resembles, according to the description of those 
who like the fruit, that of a very rich custard, 
and, according to those who have never succeeded 
in overcoming their antipathy to the smell, that of a 
mixture of decayed eggs and garlic. This fruit can- 
not be eaten in large quantities with impunity by 
Europeans, being of a very heating nature. With 
me it never agreed ; nor do I remember a single 
instance of its agreeing with my countrymen, when 
eaten freely. Half a one is as much as most people 
can manage at a time. The durian seeds, w T hen 
roasted, make an excellent substitute for chestnuts. 

The shaddock of Java is a magnificent fruit, and 
surpasses those of any other country with which I am 
acquainted. In addition to these three prime fruits 
of Java, I may mention the pine -apple, soursop, 
rambutan, rose-apple, guava, dookoo, and sixty dif- 
ferent kinds of plantain and banana. These, and 
many others, thrive and abound on this favoured 
island. With poultry, butchers 1 meat, fish, and vege- 
tables, Batavia and Java generally are abundantly 
supplied ; while the residents on its mountains may 
enjoy strawberries and cream in perfection. 



IB 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



CHAPTER II. 

JAVA. 

SAMARANG A TIGER FIGHT — JAVA PONEYS — EXCURSION 

TO SOLO WILD SPORTS DJOCKDJOCARTA — REMAINS OF 

THE ANCIENT PALACE IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS — EXPE- 
RIMENT IN INDIGO-PLANTING — JAVANESE EXECUTION 

A PET BOA ALLIGATORS FOREST LABOUR SLAVERY 

IN JAVA OPIUM-SMOKING TEA THE UPAS-TREE. 

Between three and four hundred miles eastward of 
Batavia, on the north coast of Java, is the small, 
neat, old-fashioned town of Samarang, which, when 
I visited it in 1824, was the residence of several 
English merchants : now, there is only a single one 
remaining, so completely has monopoly destroyed 
mercantile enterprise ! The harbour is a safe one 
in the south-east monsoon, but the reverse when the 
north-west winds prevail. It is, however, constantly 
visited by European shipping, which take cargoes of 
coffee, sugar, rice, &c. &c, to all parts of Europe, 
Australia, Singapore, and China. 

The circumstance at this distance of time most 
clear and distinct in my memory, in connection with 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



17 



my first visit to Samarang, is a tiger-fight, which I 
will attempt to describe. The exhibition took place 
on an extensive plain near the town, just after day- 
break. A square of men, armed with the native 
spear, was formed three deep, and one hundred yards 
across. Inside this square was placed a box resem- 
bling in shape a coffin, but much larger, containing 
a royal tiger fresh from his native forests, which had 
been brought to town the day previously for this ex- 
press purpose. Imagine every thing ready, the square 
formed, the box in its centre, and a silent multitude 
looking on, — some perched on trees, some on the coach- 
boxes of the numerous carriages, others on horseback, 
and thousands on foot ; whilst the native chief of the 
district, with his friends, and the European officials of 
the place, occupied a gay pavilion, placed in an ad- 
vantageous situation for viewing the coming strife. 
A native Javan, in full dress, is now seen advancing 
into the square, followed by two coolies or porters, 
one carrying a bundle of straw, the other a lighted 
torch. The straw is thrown over the box, and the 
torch-bearer stands ready to set fire to it at the end 
where the tigers head is, the box being too narrow 
to permit his turning round in it. The leading- 
native then lifts a sliding: door at the other extre- 
mity of the box, carefully covering the opening thus 
made with mats, to prevent the light from pene 
trating, and inducing his royal highness to back 



18 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



out too soon. This operation completed, the straw 
is set on fire. The native and his two coolies now 
retire slowly, keeping time to Javanese music as 
they make their way outside the square. By this 
time, the fire has got fair hold of the box, filling it 
with smoke, and the tiger begins his retreat, his 
berth becoming rather warm. Presently, his hind 
quarters appear issuing through the sliding doorway, 
its covering of mat readily yielding to the pressure : 
by degrees, his hind feet gain firm footing outside, 
and his whole body is soon displayed. On appear- 
ing, he seemed rather confused for a few seconds, 
and, laying himself quietly down, looked all round 
upon his foes, and gave a roar that made the welkin 
ring, and my young heart quake a little. He then 
rose, deliberately shook himself, turned towards the 
rising sun, set off first at a walk, then at a trot, 
which he gradually increased to a smart canter, till 
within a few yards of the points of the spears 
pointed at him ; he then came, to the charge, and 
made a spring that surprised me, and, I fancy, every 
one present. I am afraid to say how high he leaped, 
but he was on the descent before a single spear 
touched him. This leap was evidently made with 
the intention of getting clear over the heads of the 
men and their spears too ; and he most certainly 
would have accomplished it, had he 'not leaped too 
soon, and fallen within the square, the height of the 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



19 



spring being quite sufficient for the purpose. As it 
was, when on the descent, the spears of the six 
men nearest him being pointed at his breast, one of 
them inflicted a frightful wound. On reaching the 
ground, the noble beast struggled hard for his 
liberty ; but, finding his efforts of no avail, he 
ultimately started off at full gallop to the opposite 
side of the square, where he renewed his exertions, 
though with less vigour than that displayed on his 
first attempt, and with no better success. He then 
galloped twice round the square, just at the point of 
the spears. Not a man advanced to touch him, it being 
the rule, that the tiger must come within the range 
of the spears before they can be used. He was ulti- 
mately killed while making a third attempt to 
escape ; and thus ended the sport. His first charge 
was very brilliant and exciting ; his second much 
less so ; his third and last was very feeble. 

Immediately after the tiger's death, the same cere- 
monies were gone through with a leopard, who took 
the spear-men rather by surprise, and, instead of 
trying to leap over their heads, darted in under 
their spears, got among their feet, and effected his 
retreat, to the no small consternation of the sur- 
rounding multitude, who soon scattered in all direc- 
tions. He was, however, pursued by the men he 
had baffled, and was killed under a bridge in the im- 
mediate neighbourhood. 



20 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Tigers are frequently pitted by the native chiefs 
of Java against buffaloes, but I never was fortunate 
enough to witness one of those conflicts. The buf- 
falo is generally the conqueror, and is sure to be so, 
if he succeeds in getting one fair butt at his adver- 
sary, whom he tosses in the air, and butts again on 
his fall. Occasionally, the tiger declines the combat 
altogether, when his tormentors rouse him by the 
application of lighted torches to the tenderest parts 
of his body : but even this extreme measure has been 
known to fail ; in which case the terrified animal is 
withdrawn, and another is put forward in his place. 
These are cruel pastimes, though they may be thought 
not more so than dog-fighting and cock-fighting, 
which were formerly so much practised in Britain ; 
and not so barbarous as a pugilistic combat between 
two hired brutes called prize-fighters. 

The society of Samarang is neither so extensive 
nor so attractive as that of Batavia : it is, however, 
a pleasant and healthy place, notwithstanding its 
proximity to an extensive swamp. Its safeguard 
against the malaria we might naturally look for in 
this situation, is the tide, which flows over the marsh 
twice a day, and keeps it sweet. 

During the Java war, a small volunteer corps of 
cavalry was formed here, the members of which, in 
their zeal, offered their services to join a party who 
were proceeding to Damak, (a small village about 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



21 



forty miles off, ) to put down a body of armed rebels. 
Poor fellows ! they went out in high spirits, but trusted 
too much to their unbroken horses, which took fright, 
and threw them into inextricable confusion on hear- 
ing the first volley. The sad consequences of this 
rash though gallant day's work, were, the death of 
seven young English gentlemen, all highly respected, 
and sincerely regretted by their countrymen. They 
were all personal friends of my own. I well re- 
member the gloom which the intelligence cast over 
the society at Batavia. 

In and about Samarang may be collected any 
number of the beautiful Java poneys, animals un- 
surpassed for symmetry in any part of the world.* 
The work they perform is beyond belief. Ten 
miles an hour is the common rate of travelling post : 
four of them are generally used for this purpose, and 
the stages are from seven to nine miles, according to 
the nature of the country. When within half-a-mile 
of the first house where relays are kept, the native 
coachman cracks his long, unwieldy whip, which can 
be heard at a great distance. At this signal, the 
grooms harness the four poneys whose turn for work 
it is ; and, by the time your carriage halts under the 
shed that crosses the road at every post-house, the 
fresh poneys are to be seen coming out of the stable, 

* The Java poney in Her Majesty's stable at Windsor, is certainly 
no fair specimen, being the worst-favoured brute under the sun. 



22 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



all ready for the next stage. Your attention is then 
attracted by a man with a stout bamboo, some eight 
feet long, in his hand, full of water, which he pours 
over the naves of the wheels, to cool them. By this 
time, the tired poneys are unhooked, the fresh ones 
put-to, and away rattles the carriage again with its 
delighted passengers. I know nothing more exciting 
and agreeable than a ramble amongst the mountains 
of this favoured isle, under the direction of the post 
establishment. 

From Samarang, early in 1824, I posted with a 
friend to Solo and Djockdjocarta, the ancient seats 
of the Emperors and Sultans of this part of Java. 
They are now shorn of their splendour; but they 
still possess novelty enough to attract a stranger. 
On our route, we visited some beautiful coffee-plan- 
tations, and passed through the pretty and romantic- 
looking village of Salatiga.* We had a splendid 
view of the far-famed Gunung Marapi, or fire-moun- 
tain ; and, on every side, we saw evidence of the 
thriving condition of this magnificent part of Java. 

At Solo, I was so fortunate as to be present at the 
then Emperor's marriage; a scene which brought 
painfully to mind the fallen state of the chiefs of 

* A name derived from the Malay words, sallah, " a fault or 
crime," and tiga, the numeral " three"; consequently meaning 
the " third fault." How this pretty spot came by such a name, I 
never heard. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



23 



this neighbourhood, by its being superintended by 
the Dutch Resident at the Court. There were three 
days 1 feasting, royal salutes from the imperial guard, 
Javanese music, and dancing girls in great numbers ; 
but I found the whole affair very fatiguing. Fallen as 
was the Emperors state at that time, it subsequently 
became much more reduced, in consequence of his 
having been found guilty of being secretly concerned 
in the late war or rebellion. He has long since fol- 
lowed his friend and coadjutor, Diepo Nogoro. A tool 
of the Dutch Government now reigns in his stead, 
who cannot even leave his house for twenty- four hours 
without permission from the Resident at his Court. 

One day, I accompanied a party of friends to see 
the Emperor's tigers, a number of which animals he 
generally had ready for exhibitions similar to those 
already described. We found one very noble fel- 
low confined in a house some fifteen feet square, 
formed of the trunks of cocoa-nut trees, placed about 
five inches apart. On looking through, we saw the 
tiger in the position usually chosen by a dog when 
he wants to warm his face at the fire. Hearing our 
approach, he stared us steadily in the face for about 
a minute, and then made a spring at us, so suddenly 
that he came with his whole force against the bars, 
before we had time to move a step. The shock 
shook the building, as well as our nerves, not a little, 
though we were of course scatheless. 



24 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



At Solo, I first tasted the Javanese " Findhorn had- 
dock," which is, in fact, a trout caught in the beauti- 
ful Solo river. After being cleaned, it is wrapped 
up in a bundle of rice-straw, w T hich is forthwith set 
on fire ; and as soon as the straw is consumed, the 
fish is ready for eating, and really resembles in fla- 
vour its celebrated name-sake. 

In the neighbourhood of Solo, a bold sportsman 
may find game to his liking, and willing natives to 
guide him in his search after tigers, wild hogs, the 
huge boa, deer, snipe, and quail. In pursuit of the 
last, too many a fever is caught, through the impru- 
dence of young men in staying out too late in the 
day, and in keeping on their wet and soiled clothes and 
shoes during their ride or drive home. A little at- 
tention to such apparent trifles would save many a 
valuable life. Deer and wild-hog are generally pur- 
sued and shot by a party armed with rifles, who post 
themselves along one side of a jungle, while a party 
of natives advance from the opposite, driving the 
game before them with long poles and shouting. 
Great care must be taken by the sportsman, on these 
occasions, not to fire too soon: if he fires into the 
jungle, he runs the risk of shooting one of the bush- 
beaters ; if to the right or left, he may plant his bul- 
let in the breast of one of his companions. He must 
reserve his fire till the game is fairly out of the 
bush, and in rear of the line of rifles, when he may 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



25 



turn round and deliver his charge. I recollect a 
fatal accident happening near Salatiga, through a 
gentleman's deviating from the strict rule, never to 
change your position when once placed by the lead- 
ing sportsman. A party were out after hogs by 
moonlight, when one gentleman, thinking he heard a 
noise as of an approaching porker on his left, very 
imprudently got on his hands and knees to crawl 
round in the hope of getting the first shot. The 
sportsman stationed next to him got a glimpse of 
him on the path, and mistaking him in the uncer- 
tain light for a hog or other wild animal, fired his 
rifle without a moment's hesitation, and mortally 
wounded his unfortunate friend, who lived just long 
enough to acknowledge his error, and to beg that no 
blame might be attached to the individual who caused 
his death. Poor fellow ! he paid dearly for his im- 
prudence. 

Solo is protected by a small fort, which is always 
garrisoned by European troops, the Government 
not choosing to trust native soldiers in that' part of 
the country. For this, no one can blame the Dutch ; 
for the chiefs require looking after, and are apt to 
give trouble. While the Island was held by the 
British Government, a mutiny broke out at Solo 
among the Bengal sepoys : on its suppression, it was 
found they had been tampered with by these chiefs, 



26 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



and that numbers had been gained over to their 
cause. 

Nothing can exceed the hospitality of the Dutch 
inhabitants of this part of Java: their houses are 
always open to the stranger, of whom they think 
too much cannot be made. The Resident's esta- 
blishment is a splendid one, and to his liberality and 
hospitality I can testify from personal experience. 
Indeed, our countrymen, in many parts that I could 
name, might, with great advantage to themselves 
and to travellers in their districts, take lessons from 
their Dutch brethren in office. 

From Solo, I went to Djockdjocarta, distant forty 
miles, in a gig. A kind friend having placed relays 
of horses on the road for me, I performed the journey 
with perfect ease, without the aid of a whip, in four 
hours. The poney I had the last stage, was the best 
little animal in harness I ever sat behind : he lite- 
rally flew along the road. At one point, I came to 
a bridge, which, as I could see at some distance, had 
been broken, so as to render it impassable. While 
meditating how I was to get across the river, not 
knowing there w T as a ford in the neighbourhood, my 
poney, which had come the road in the morning to 
meet me, settled the question, by suddenly darting 
off, through a gap in the hedge at the road-side, down 
the river bank, at the top of his speed, and, before I 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



27 



could collect my scattered senses, was across the 
stream and up the opposite bank, to my no small 
surprise and pleasure. He was a noble little animal, 
of a mouse colour ; and was originally purchased 
from a native dealer for twenty-eight guilders (about 
21 6s. 8c/.). 

At Djockdjocarta are to be seen many ancient re- 
sidences of the Javanese Chiefs ; amongst others, the 
celebrated Cratan or palace, the taking of which, in 
IS 12, cost General Gillespie a hard struggle. It is 
surrounded with a high wall, which encloses an area 
of exactly one square mile : outside the wall runs a 
deep, broad ditch. The place could offer but a feeble 
resistance against artillery, in which arm Gillespie 
was deficient when he attacked and took it. Another 
curious building is that in which the Sultans, in days 
of yore, used to keep their ladies : it is composed 
entirely of long narrow passages, with numerous 
small rooms on each side ; each of which, in the days 
of their master's glory, was the residence, according 
to tradition, of a beautiful favourite. To prevent 
the escape of the ladies, or the intrusion of any gal- 
lants, the whole pile is surrounded with a canal, which 
used to be filled with alligators : the only entrance 
was by a subterranean passage beneath this canal, and 
which ran under it for its whole length. When I 
visited the place in 1824, the canal, passage, &c. 
were all in good order, though the latter was getting 



8 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



damp from neglect; — a proof that the masons and 
plasterers of Java, in old times, must have been very 
superior workmen. 

Djockdjocarta was the birth-place of Diepo Nogoro, 
and the scene of his earliest warlike movements 
against the Dutch. So unexpected and sudden was 
his first attack, that he caught the garrison napping, 
and had them within his grasp before they knew he 
was in the field. 

In the Cratan, the Sultan had, in 1824, three noble 
elephants, each kept under a separate shed. I went, 
with three other visiters, to see those animals ; and 
we passed sometime amusing ourselves by giving 
them fruit and other dainties. We did not remark, 
however, that one of our friends had been for some- 
time teasing one of them, by offering him a plan- 
tain, and constantly withdrawing it just as the poor 
animal was laying hold of it with his trunk. We 
had not gone twenty yards from the spot, when the 
elephant's keeper approached, and gave him a couple 
of cocoa-nuts, (minus the husk, but with the shells,) 
— part of his daily food, I presume. The elephant 
took one of these, and, with a wicked look at the 
gentleman who had been teasing him, threw the nut 
at him with great force. Fortunately he missed his 
aim. The nut struck a post within six inches of the 
teasers head, and was literally smashed : had it 
struck where doubtless it was meant to do, it would 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



29 



certainly have proved as fatal as an eighteen-pound 
shot. So much for teasing elephants. We beat a 
speedy retreat, not choosing to risk a second shot. 

Djockdjocarta can hardly be called a town ; yet it 
is more than a village. The houses of the European 
inhabitants are much scattered, and many of them 
occupy very pretty situations. The climate is deli- 
cious ; and exercise on horseback may be taken with 
impunity from six to nine a.m., and from three to 
seven p.m. It is not uncommon to see Europeans 
riding about during the intervening hours ; but this 
is generally avoided by old residents. 

A successful attempt was made here, by a country- 
man of mine, in 1823, to grow indigo. The quantity 
produced w T as limited, but the quality was excellent ; 
and, but for some vexatious regulations of the Go- 
vernment regarding the residence of foreigners in 
this part of Java, which drove the spirited individual 
alluded to from the neighbourhood, I have no doubt 
he would speedily have realized a handsome fortune. 
Since that period, indigo- planting has been carried 
on in various parts of Java to a large extent. The 
quantity produced annually is now about one million 
and a half of pounds ; and the quality is such as to 
command the first prices in the continental markets. 
Indeed, the Bengal planters are becoming quite 
jealous of those of Java. 

Shortly before my arrival at Djockdjocarta, a 



30 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



daring house-robbery, by a band of Javanese, took 
place in the neighbourhood. Six of the robbers 
were afterwards caught, tried, convicted, condemned, 
and executed a la Javan on the scene of their crime : 
they were tied hands and feet to separate stakes, and 
krissed by a native executioner, who performed his 
dreadful office so, scientifically that his victims died 
without a groan. The cool indifference with which 
five of the unfortunates witnessed the execution of 
the first sufferer, and successively received the kriss 
in their own bosoms, was quite surprising, and 
shewed with what stoical composure the Mohamme- 
dan fatalist can meet a violent death. 

The forests of Java are inhabited by the rhino- 
ceros, tiger, black tiger, leopard, tiger-cat, boa-con- 
strictor, and a variety of animals of milder natures. 
The elephant is not found in its wild state in these 
woods, though numerous in those of the neighbour- 
ing island. I am not aware of any other animal that 
may be called dangerous to man in these unrivalled 
forests ; nor is there much to be apprehended from 
occasionally coming in contact with either of those 
above-named, though accidents happen now and 
then. I have known a carriage and four attacked 
on the main road between Batavia and Samarang, 
by a tiger, and one of the poneys killed by the fierce 
onset. This, however, is a rare occurrence, and can 
happen only when the tiger is hard pressed for food ; 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



31 



which is seldom the ease in the woods of Java, over- 
run as they are with deer, wild-hog, and other royal 
game. The boa is harmless to man, unless his path 
is crossed, when a speedy retreat is advisable. A 
friend of mine in Samarang once kept one of these 
monsters as a pet, and used to let him crawl all over 
the garden : it measured exactly nineteen feet. It 
was regularly fed twice a month, viz. on the 1st and 
the 1 5th. On the first day of the month, a moderate- 
sized goat was put into his house. The poor animal 
would scream, and exhibit every symptom of extreme 
terror, but was not kept long in suspense; for the 
snake, after eyeing his victim keenly, would spring 
on it with the rapidity of thought, coil three turns 
round the body, and in an instant every bone in the 
goafs skin was broken. The next process was, to 
stretch the carcass to as great a length as he could 
before uncoiling himself; then to lick it all over; 
and he commenced his feast by succeeding, after 
some severe exertion, in getting the goat's head 
within his mouth. In the course of twenty minutes, 
the whole animal was swallowed : the snake would 
then lie down, and remain perfectly dormant for 
three or four days. His lunch (as I may call it) on 
the fifteenth of the month, used to consist of a duck. 
This snake was given, in 1815, to Lord Amherst, on 
his return from China, and reached the Cape in 
safety : there it was over-fed to gratify the curious 



32 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



visiters, and died in consequence before the ship 
reached St. Helena. 

While on the subject of wild animals, I may men- 
tion a leopard that was kept by an English officer in 
Samarang, during our occupation of the Dutch colo- 
nies. This animal had its liberty, and used to run all 
over the house after its master. One morning, after 
breakfast, the officer was sitting smoking his hookah, 
with a book in his right-hand, and the hookah-snake 
in his left, when he felt a slight pain in the left 
hand, and, On attempting to raise it, was checked by 
a low angry growl from his pet leopard : on looking 
down, he saw the animal had been licking the back 
of his hand, and had by degrees drawn a little blood. 
The leopard would not suffer the removal of the 
hand, but continued licking it with great apparent 
relish, which did not much please his master ; who, 
with great presence of mind, without attempting 
again to disturb the pet in his proceeding, called to 
his servant to bring him a pistol, with which he shot 
the animal dead on the spot. Such pets as snakes 
nineteen feet long and full-grown leopards are not 
to be trifled with. The largest snake I ever saw 
was twenty-five feet long, and eight inches in diame- 
ter. I have heard of sixty-feet snakes, but cannot 
vouch for the truth of the tale. 

In my enumeration of animals dangerous to man, 
I omitted the alligator, which infests every river and 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



33 



muddy creek in Java, and grows to a very large 
size. At the mouth of the Batavia river, they are 
very numerous and dangerous, particularly to Euro- 
peans. It strikes one as extraordinary, to see the 
copper-coloured natives bathing in the river within 
view of a large alligator : they never seem to give 
the animal a thought, or to anticipate injury from 
his proximity. Yet, were a European to enter the 
water by the side of the natives, his minutes in this 
world would be few. I recollect an instance that 
occurred on the occasion of a party of troops em- 
barking at Batavia for the eastward, during the Java 
war. The men had all gone off, with the exception 
of three sergeants, who were to follow in the ship's 
jolly-boat, which was waiting for them at the wharf : 
two of them stepped into the boat ; but the third, in 
following, missed his footing, and fell with his leg in 
the water, and his body over the gunwale of the boat. 
In less than an instant, an alligator darted from under 
the wharf, and seized the unfortunate man by the 
leg, while his companions in the boat laid hold of 
his shoulders. The poor fellow called out to his 
friends, "Pull; hold on; don't let go 11 ; but their 
utmost exertions were unavailing:. The alligator 
proved the strongest, and carried off his prize. The 
scene was described to me by a bystander, who said, 
he could trace the monsters course all the way down 
the river with his victim in his immense mouth, 
c 3 



34 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



The inhabitants of Java are, generally speaking, 
a quiet, tractable race, but rather lazy withal. The 
Dutch Government could never have made the 
Island produce half the quantity it now yields of 
either sugar, coffee, or rice, without a little whole- 
some coercion; — coercion that seemed somewhat 
tyrannical at first, but which has ultimately pleased 
all parties concerned, and done wonders for Java. 
If my memory serves me, it was in the time of 
Governor Vandenborch that this system of coercion 
commenced. The inhabitants of the villages, in 
various parts of the Island, were compelled by an 
armed force, when milder means had failed, to turn 
out at day-light, and labour in the fields planted 
either by Government itself or by Government con- 
tractors, which naturally caused a great deal of 
discontent; but, as the labourers were regularly 
paid in cash for their day's work every evening, 
they very soon became reconciled to a system that 
not only provided amply for their families, but gave 
them the means of indulging in their favourite 
pastime, gambling. To this vice, all classes are pas- 
sionately addicted ; and nothing is more common 
than to see a gang of coolies sit down in the middle 
of the road, and gamble for hours on the few pieces 
they may have just earned for having carried a 
heavy burthen a couple of miles. The inhabitants 
of the districts in which the coercion I speak of has 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



35 



been put in force, are now better satisfied with their 
rulers than ever they were before. 

The extent to which the growth of coffee and 
sugar has been carried, has rather checked that of 
rice, which has been twenty-five per cent, dearer the 
last fifteen years, than during the preceding twenty : 
it is, however, still cheap enough as an article of 
food, though the price is too high to compete, in the 
China or Singapore markets, with the produce of 
Lombok, Bally, Siam, or Cochin China.* 

Slavery still exists in Java, and every Dutch 
family has its domestic slaves. The law forbids the 
importation of fresh ones, and provides for the good 
treatment of those now in bondage. It also pro- 
hibits the slave-owner from separating a family ; so 
that the wife and husband cannot be parted from 

* By the last overland papers from Singapore (Sept. 1845), 
I observe, the Dutch Government has been importing rice from 
Pondicherry to Java; — a proceeding quite unprecedented in my 
time, and to be accounted for only by the extent to which the 
cultivation of sugar, indigo, and coffee is carried, in order to satisfy 
the constant demands on the colonies of the Netherlands for money. 
To this cause may be added, however, the occurrence of one or two 
dry seasons; — a rare phenomenon within the tropics, and attribu- 
table, probably, in some degree, to the vast extent of country 
recently cleared of forest and jungle to make way for the plough. 
No policy can be so blind as that which compels the poor Javanese 
to eat imported rice, while living in a country capable of yielding- 
food for all Europe. 



36 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



each other, or from their children, except in the 
case of a crime having been committed by a mem- 
ber of the family. In that case, the guilty party is, 
on application to the chief magistrate, put up to auc- 
tion, and sold to the highest bidder. This, however, 
is a rare occurrence, though I have witnessed such 
sales. The slaves, knowing well the consequence of 
an act of dishonesty, are cautious how they venture 
to trespass on the rights of meum and tuum. I may 
safely say, I have never, in all my wanderings, seen 
a race of people better treated than the slaves of 
Java : they are well fed and well clothed ; and adults 
of both sexes receive a monthly allowance of two 
guilders (3s. 4c?.) under the name of pocket-money. 
This sum may seem small ; but, when we take into 
consideration, that a free man can be hired for 
eight guilders per month in Batavia, and for six in 
the country, on which sum he has to feed and 
clothe himself and his wife and children, it will be 
sufficiently evident that the slave's allowance is 
ample, his master feeding and clothing him and his 
family. I object in toto to slavery in any form ; 
but I confess I do not think the slaves of Java would 
be benefitted, were their liberty given them to- 
morrow. 

The natives of Java are by no means free from 
that prevalent Eastern vice, or luxury, opium- 
smoking; and the Dutch Government derives an 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



37 



immense revenue from the article. I have, in 
various parts of the Eastern world, seen the evil 
effects of opium-smoking ; but am decidedly of opi- 
nion, that those arising from gin- drinking in Eng- 
land, and from whisky-drinking in Ireland and 
Scotland, far exceed them. Let any unprejudiced 
European walk through the native towns of Java, 
Singapore, or China, and see if he can find a single 
drunken native. What he will meet with are, numbers 
of drunken English, Scotch, and Irish seamen, literally 
rolling in the gutters, intoxicated, not from opium, 
but from rum and other spirits sent all the way 
from England for the purpose of enabling her 
worthy sons to exhibit themselves to Chinese and 
other nations in this disgraceful light. That spirit- 
drinking at home is no excuse for opium-smoking 
abroad, I admit ; but I would recommend the well- 
intentioned persons who have of late been raising 
such an outcry on the subject of opium, to begin at 
home, and attempt to reform their own countrymen : 
they may then come to China with a clear con- 
science, and preach reform to the poor opium- 
smoker. 

Among other improvements in Java, its rulers 
have lately turned their attention to the cultivation 
of tea, and with considerable success so far as regards 
the quality, I have no means of ascertaining the 
quantity of tea at present produced yearly ; but have 



38 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



no doubt it will, before long, become an important 
article of export from the Island. 

Before quitting Java, I must say a word about 
the far-famed upas-tree. Such a tree certainly 
exists on the island; but the tales that are told of 
its poisoning the air for hundreds of yards round, 
so that birds dare not approach it, that vegetation 
is destroyed beneath its branches, and that man 
cannot come near it with impunity, are perfectly 
ridiculous. To prove their absurdity, a friend of 
mine climbed up a upas-tree, and passed two hours 
in its branches, where he took his lunch and smoked 
a cigar. The tree, however, does contain poison, 
and the natives extract the sap, with which they rub 
their spear and kriss blades : wounds inflicted with 
blades thus anointed, are mortal. Such I believe 
to be the origin of the many fabulous stories that 
have passed from hand to hand, and from generation 
to generation, about the upas-tree of Java. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



39 



CHAPTER III. 
SINGAPORE. 

ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE — CULTIVATION 
OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT — ROADS AND SCENERY 

MOTLEY POPULATION EUROPEAN RESIDENTS 

CHINESE EMIGRANTS KLINGS — SAMPAN-MEN — PLACES 

OF WORSHIP — TIGERS. 

In the month of May 1824, I returned from my 
trip to the eastward, and was kept tightly at work 
in Batavia, till fate sent me wandering in July 1826. 
Singapore was the first place I visited; and to it, 
therefore, I must devote the next few pages of these 
retrospective lucubrations. 

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles deserved a great 
deal of credit and praise from the mercantile com- 
munity of Britain, for having established this empo- 
rium of trade. A more lovely or better situation 
could not have been chosen; and its surprising 
prosperity has more than realized its founder's 
expectations, sanguine as they were. Since 1826, 
I have resided some considerable time in Singa- 
pore ; have witnessed its progress towards its pre- 
sent flourishing condition ; and am sufficiently well 



40 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



acquainted with its trade and its inhabitants to enable 
me to speak confidently respecting them. The 
Island itself, though only seventy-six miles from the 
Equator, enjoys a delightful climate, and is remark- 
able for salubrity. Its proximity to the Line secures 
frequent refreshing showers, and its foliage is in 
consequence always in the full bloom of summer. 
During an acquaintance with it of eighteen years, 
I have never known a drought of more than three 
weeks' duration. Its soil, with little tillage, pro- 
duces the nutmeg, the clove, coffee, the cocoa-nut, the 
sugar-cane, the pepper- vine, gambia or terra japo- 
nica, and all the fruits common to Malacca and Java. 
The East-India Company's regulations regarding 
land checked, for a few years, the spirit of the agri- 
culturist; but, within the last ten years, a few 
spirited and praiseworthy individuals have laid out 
considerable sums of money in nutmeg, coffee, sugar, 
and cocoa-nut plantations. It is a somewhat doubt- 
ful point, in my opinion, whether sugar or coffee 
plantations on this island will ever pay; but, of the 
nutmeg and cocoa-nut groves, I have the best opinion, 
and think their proprietors have a very fair chance 
of ultimately being well paid for their outlay. Of 
the nutmeg gardens, that of Dr. Oxley's is by far the 
finest on the island. This gentleman has spared 
neither trouble nor expense in bringing his plants 
forward, and has now five thousand of the very finest 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



41 



nutmeg- trees I ever saw. Nothing can be finer than 
their beautiful position, tasteful outlay, and luxu- 
riant foliage. It is now eighteen months since I last 
saw those trees : they were then just coming into 
bearing; and they are now, I hope, paying their 
spirited proprietor for his monthly outlay at all 
events, though it may be a few years yet before 
they return him interest for his money, and ade- 
quate remuneration for his trouble. 

A plantation of ten or fifteen thousand cocoa-nut 
trees is a more valuable property than many people 
imagine. As soon as they come into bearing, which 
they do in five years from seed, they are worth 
three-quarters of a dollar each per annum net profit, 
after paying the labourers : thus, fifteen thousand of 
them will yield their proprietor 10,250 dollars per 
annum, (i.e. at the moderate calculation of 4s. 2c?. to 
the dollar, 2135?. 8s. 4d. sterling,) a sum that would 
cover all the outlay incurred during the five non- 
productive years, and be a secure revenue to the 
owner of the estate for ever, provided that he is 
careful in replacing the old trees, as fast as they die, 
with new plants. 

My reasons for doubting the success of coffee-plan- 
tations in Singapore are, that there is not sufficient 
depth of soil for the tree, and that, if there were, 
labour is too high to enable the planters to compete 
with those of Java. As regards sugar, Singapore 



,42 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



being a sugar-importing colony, its own produce 
pays, on being imported into England, 8s. per 
hundred- weight more duty than the produce of 
non-importing British colonies.* The high price of 
labour is also against the sugar- planter. An able- 
bodied labourer costs, in Singapore, four dollars per 
month, while the same man can be had in the moun- 
tains of Java for three guilders in money, and the 
value of two in rice. Thus, the Singapore planter 
pays more than double the rate of wages for his 
labour; and, as his lands are not so rich as his 
neighbour's, he stands, I fear, but a poor chance in 
the competition with him. 

To the eastward of the town of Singapore, extends 
a considerable plain, on which the sugar and cocoa- 
nut plantations stand. To the westward and inland 
of the town, the country consists almost entirely of 

* Since my arrival in England, an Act has been passed, removing, 
in some measure, this bar to the prosperity of the Singapore sugar- 
planter ; — I allude to the recent reduction in the duty on all sugars, 
excepting slave-grown. The Singaporeans are naturally anxious to 
be allowed to send their sugars to the English market on the same 
terms as their brethren of Prince of Wales' Island have lately been 
permitted to do. This they can hardly expect, however, while they 
continue to be such large importers of Siam and other foreign 
sugars as they are and always have been. To require them to give 
up this foreign trade, would do them far more injury than the 
granting of their planters' petition would benefit them. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



43 



hill and dale ; and its aspect is very striking and 
picturesque. On many of these miniature (for they 
are but miniature) hills, stand pretty bungalows, sur- 
rounded with nutmeg and fruit trees: they are 
delightful residences, and have the very great ad- 
vantage of cool nights, when the tired planter or 
merchant can enjoy a sound sleep after the fatigues 
of a hot day. 

A great deal has been done for Singapore by 
gangs of convicts from Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, 
who, under an experienced and able superintendent, 
have cut and made excellent roads, that now extend 
east, west, north, and south, for several miles. Cut- 
ting these roads has drained, and thereby rendered 
available, large tracts of land that were recently 
quite valueless : they also add much to the enjoy- 
ment of the Singaporean, by enabling him to extend 
his ride or drive of an evening. The scenery along 
the different roads consists of hills and dales, covered 
with the richest and most luxuriant foliage, with 
here and there a clearing, where some industrious 
China-man has squatted, in defiance of tigers and 
East-India Company's regulations. Now that land 
can be got on better terms than formerly, these 
clearings are being purchased by Europeans of the 
squatter, — whose prior right the Government always 
protects to the extent of a fair remuneration for his 
labour, — and are being turned into gardens or plan- 



44 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



tations. This drives back the squatter, who, like 
his brethren all over the world, is ever willing to 
sell and move further inland ; thus materially in- 
creasing the extent of cleared land from year to 
year. The primeval jungles of Singapore are so 
thickly timbered and covered with underwood and 
large, tough creepers, that the man who undertakes 
to clear them has before him an Herculean task. 
According to the best information I could obtain, it 
requires a cash outlay of sixty dollars to clear a single 
acre ; and even that large sum does not thoroughly 
stump it (i. e. clear off all the large roots and stumps 
of the larger trees) for the planting of coffee, nut- 
megs, or pepper. For these, however, this is less 
necessary, as the plants are placed at a considerable 
distance from each other : for sugar, it is very de- 
sirable to have every stump taken out. 

Swamps abound on the island: fortunately, they 
are all salt-water swamps, and flooded daily by the 
tide, which keeps them sweet, so that no one suffers 
from residing in their neighbourhood. 

A full description of the inhabitants of Singapore 
would fill a volume, they are of so many countries. 
Here may be seen, besides Europeans of different 
nations, and Americans, the Jew, the Armenian, the 
Persian, the Parsee, the Arab, the Bengalee, the 
Malabaree, the China-man, the Malay, the Javanese, 
the Siamese, the Cochin Chinese, with the native of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



45 



Borneo, of Macassar, and of every island of the 
Eastern Archipelago ; all in the costumes of their 
respective countries, and forming motley groupes 
that can nowhere be surpassed. With the exception 
of the Europeans, Americans, and Armenians, each 
class occupies a distinct quarter of the town, mixing 
but little with the rest, except in business hours, 
when one and all may be seen in eager converse on 
the all-important subject of money-making. 

Europeans generally live in garden-houses in the 
suburbs. The favourite situation is along the beach 
to the eastward of the town, from which the mer- 
chant has a full view of the harbour, as well as of 
both its entrances, and can see every vessel that 
comes or goes. Pleasant, however, as is this part of 
the suburbs, it is gradually being deserted for country 
situations, where the hot winds of July, August, and 
September are not so much felt, and where the 
nights are cooler than on the sea-shore. The houses 
generally occupied by these gentlemen, are large 
and roomy, with verandahs in front and rear, en- 
closed with Venetian blinds : these are kept shut 
from ten a. m. till four p. m., which darkens the house 
so much that a visiter can with difficulty see his 
host or hostess for two or three minutes after en- 
tering a room, till the pupils of his eyes, contracted 
by the glare on the road, expand, and enable him to 
distinguish objects. This custom keeps the house 



46 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



wonderfully cool, and is universally adopted by new- 
comers after the first few months of their residence. 
The Chinese occupy the next best part of the town, 
and many of them have built substantial and com- 
modious houses. A portion of this class are the 
descendants of Chinese who settled at Malacca two 
hundred years ago : they have never been to China, 
and speak Malay much more fluently than they do 
their own language. Numbers of them keep their 
families at Malacca, having superstitious objections 
to a final removal far from the graves of their an- 
cestors. The real Chinese emigrant looks on Singa- 
pore only as a temporary home, and invariably re- 
mits something every year, according to his means, 
to his aged parents, wife, or sisters. He usually 
consoles himself for his absence from his wife, by 
taking to himself another of the country he resides 
in : the offspring of this second marriage is always 
properly cared for on the father's return to China, 
where he probably takes the eldest boy to be 
educated. 

The Chinese junks bring annually to this part of 
the world, from six to eight thousand emigrants, 
ninety-nine-hundredths of whom land without a six- 
pence in the world beyond the clothes they stand in. 
The consequence of this is, that those who cannot 
succeed in obtaining immediate employment, take 
to thieving, from necessity ; and some daring gang 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



47 



robberies are committed every year. They do not, 
however, long continue this mode of life; for the 
eight thousand new comers soon scatter, and find em- 
ployment either on the Island, in the tin-mines of 
Banca. or on the Malayan peninsula. 

Ship-loads of these men have been sent to the 
Mauritius, where they have given general satisfac- 
tion ; and no better class of emigrants could be found 
for the West Indies. A tight curb on a China-man 
will make him do a great deal of work : at the same 
time, he has spirit enough to resist real ill treat- 
ment. All the mechanics and house-builders, and 
many boatmen and fishermen of Singapore, are 
Chinese. 

Of the other inhabitants, the most numerous are 
the Malabarees, who are principally employed as 
shopkeepers, and are as knowing in the art of bar- 
gain-driving as any tradesmen of London or Paris. 
They generally go here under the denomination of 
"Klings," an appellation synonymous, in the Singa- 
pore vocabulary, with " scamp," to which I have no 
inclination to dispute their title. The boats em- 
ployed to carry cargoes to and from the shipping in 
the harbour, are almost all manned by these Kllngs : 
and excellent boatmen they are. "When pulling off 
a heavily-laden boat, they cheer their labour by a 
song, led, in general, by the steersman, the crew 
joining in chorus. They are a willing, hard-working 



£8 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



race, though rather given to shut their eyes to the 
difference between meum and tuum. The original 
Malay inhabitants of this Island are now the most 
insignificant, both as to numbers and as to general 
utility, of the many races that are found on it. 
From this remark must be excepted, however, the 
sampan-men, who are of great service to the mer- 
cantile community. In their fast-sailing sampans 
(a superior sort of canoe, peculiar to the place), they 
go out ten, fifteen, and even twenty miles, to meet 
any ship that may be signalized as approaching the 
harbour. They are usually employed to attend a 
ship during her stay here, few masters choosing to 
trust their crews on shore in boats. Of late years, 
reports have been in circulation of a suspected con- 
nection between the sampan-men and the Malay 
pirates in the neighbourhood ; but I question their 
having any foundation in fact. Those Malay fami- 
lies whose young men are thus employed as sampan- 
men, are called Orang-Laut, or " People of the sea," 
from their living entirely afloat. The middle of the 
river just opposite the town of Singapore, is crowded 
with boats about twenty feet long by five wide, in 
which these poor people are born, live, and die. 
They are wretched abodes, but are preferred, from 
long custom I fancy, by their inhabitants, who, if 
they chose, could find room on shore to build huts 
that would cost less than these marine dwellings. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



49 



Each different class of the inhabitants of the 
Island have their own place of worship. The En- 
glish Church, built in 1836 by a contribution from 
the Government and a subscription among the 
European inhabitants, is a handsome building in a 
central situation, capable of holding four times as 
many people as are likely to be ever collected within 
it : it is neatly fitted up, but lacked a steeple, or even 
a belfry. This deficiency, however, is about to be 
supplied by a subscription raised at the suggestion 
of the Bishop of Calcutta, during his last official visit 
to this portion of his immense diocese.* 

The Chinese pagoda is a splendid building, ac- 
cording to the celestial taste in such matters, and is 
really well worth seeing : the carving and general 
fitting-up of the interior are very beautiful, and sub- 
stantial enough to make one believe they will last 
a thousand years, as the Chinese say they will. In 
the centre, the Queen of Heaven is seen decked forth 
in robes of the most superb figured satin, richly 

* Since this was written, the Chapel has been much improved, 
and an elegant steeple added to it. There seems to be some fatality 
attaching to Clergymen at Singapore. The last three incumbents, 
Messrs. Burn, Darrah, and White, all died young, and of the same 
complaint, namely, diseased liver. My own opinion is, that they 
were all three too strict adherents to teetotalism. In warm climates, 
a moderate and rather liberal allowance of wine, I believe to be 
absolutely necessary. 

D 



50 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



embroidered with gold ; robes that the wealthiest 
dames of the proudest cities of Europe might envy, 
but the like to which they never can possess. Her Ma- 
jesty was brought from China ; and the owner of the 
junk in which she came, would not receive a penny as 
freight for the room she occupied. On her arrival 
in Singapore harbour, the whole Chinese population 
of the Island turned out to see her land, and paraded 
her through the town, with all the noise they could 
by any possibility extract from about a thousand 
gongs. The building in which she has taken up her 
quarters, cost 40,000 Spanish dollars, and does credit 
to the Chinese workmen of Singapore. One day, 
shortly after the building of this temple, I asked an 
intelligent and wealthy Chinese, how often he went 
to it. His answer, in broken English, ran thus : 
" Sometime one moon, sometime two moon. Sup- 
pose I want ask God for something, I go churchee. 
Suppose I no want ask any thing, what for I go ?"" 
On my asking whether he never went to return 
thanks for past favours, he seemed to think my 
question a very silly one, and said, " No use." 1 

The American Chapel is a remarkably neat little 
building. Besides these, there is no other place of 
worship in Singapore worthy of notice. 

Before quitting the subject of the inhabitants of 
this land of perpetual summer, I must mention one 
class which the others would gladly get rid of: 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



51 



I allude to the tigers of a large size which abound 
here, and which, having cleared the jungles of wild- 
hog and jackalls, and nearly so of deer, have lately 
commenced preying on man, to whom they have 
become a most formidable and dreaded foe. Were 
I to set down the number of unfortunate individuals 
who have, since 1839, been killed by these lords of 
the forests, I should scarcely expect to be credited. 
Let any one look over the newspapers of the Island 
for the last five or six years, and they will tell him 
a tale of horror that will make his blood freeze. 
Many of the more distant gambia-plantations have 
been deserted by their proprietors in consequence of 
the ravages of these monsters. Government, in the 
hope of remedying or mitigating the evil, offered a 
reward of one hundred dollars for every tiger brought 
in alive or dead ; but so dense are the jungles in 
which they seek shelter, that their pursuers have 
hitherto been far from successful. One is brought 
in now and then, for which the captor receives his 
reward, and sells the flesh for some forty dollars 
more ; for the reader must know, that the flesh of a 
tiger is readily purchased and eagerly eaten by the 
Chinese, under the notion that some of the courage 
of the animal will be thereby instilled into them. 
Some time before I left the Island, a Malay fell in 
with two tiger cubs in the woods, and captured one 
of them : next day, he went back, like a fool, alone, 
d2 



52 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



in search of the other, when the dam captured and 
made a meal of him ; a lesson to his countrymen, 
which has effectually cured them of meddling with 
tiger-whelps. On another occasion, a China-man, 
having set a trap for tigers, took a walk out about 
midnight, to see if his plan had been successful. He 
paid dearly for his temerity, being carried off by 
some prowling monster ; and his mangled body was 
found near the place a few days afterwards. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



53 



CHAPTER IV. 

SINGAPORE. 

TRADE OF SINGAPORE CHINESE TRADERS BUGIS 

TRADERS SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE ARAB 

SMUGGLERS BORNEO — TRADE WITH CALCUTTA — COM- 
MERCIAL PROSPECTS. 

The trade of Singapore has, until within the last 
three years, gone on increasing ; but it has now, in 
the opinion of many people, reached its ultimatum. 
The harbour is visited regularly by native vessels 
from all the neighbouring islands, as well as from 
the Continent ; and I shall proceed to notice the 
nature and value of their trade, respectively, class by 
class. 

And first as to the China junks. These unwieldy 
vessels visit the Island in numbers varying from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty per 
annum, their size ranging from fifty to five hundred 
tons: they are manned and navigated entirely by 
Chinese. They of course come with the monsoon, 
and reach Singapore in the months of January, Fe- 
bruary, and March. Their cargoes form a very 



54 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



material item in the trade of the place, and consist 
of tea, raw silk, camphor, Nankin (both yellow and 
blue), immense quantities of coarse earthenware, 
and supplies of all kinds for the myriads of Chinese 
that reside on this and the neighbouring islands. 
The season of their arrival is one of great activity 
in the Chinese bazaars, and gives an impulse to the 
trade of the importer of Manchester and Glasgow 
manufactures. Their commanders and supercar- 
goes are cautious dealers, and usually sound the 
market well before disposing of their commodities. 
Sometimes, however, they overstand their market, 
and suffer by refusing the first offers made. This 
was particularly the case in the season of 1841, in the 
article of tea, which fell in price with every over- 
land mail that came in, making these wary men rue 
their having declined the offers that had been made 
them previously. Most of them are opium-smokers ; 
and their countrymen, with whom they deal, take 
care to keep them well supplied with this luxury, 
and obtain many a good bargain from them when 
under its influence. 

The export cargoes of this class of vessels consist 
principally of raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton goods, 
opium, beche-de-mer or sea slug, pepper, tin, rat- 
tans, edible birds'-nests, deers' sinews, sharks' fins, 
fish maws, &c. Of the first three articles, they have 
of late taken annually the following quantities: — 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



55 



raw cotton, 20,000 bales of 300 lbs. each; cotton 
goods, 50,000 pieces of 40 yards each; opium, 2000 
chests of 164 lbs. each; the aggregate value of which 
I put down, in round numbers, at two millions of 
dollars. 

Many of the small junks that arrive with the last 
of the north-east monsoon in April, are fast-sailing 
craft, and come expressly for opium, to pay for which 
they bring nothing but bullion : they take their de- 
parture early in May, and smuggle the drug into 
Canton by paying the usual bribe to the Mandarins. 
All the large junks have sailed on their return 
voyage by the end of June. Some few of them that 
waited in 1841 till the middle of July, in the hope 
of getting opium cheaper than their neighbours who 
sailed earlier, encountered heavy gales in the Chi- 
nese sea ; and one or two of them were lost with 
valuable cargoes. This lesson has not been lost 
upon their successors, who have since taken care to 
run no such risks. Advantage is taken of the oppor- 
tunity afforded by the return of these junks, every 
season, by the Chinese residents, to make remit- 
tances to their families in China; and the masters 
of them are entrusted with their remittances, which 
usually consist of money, though, occasionally, rice 
and other useful articles are sent. The shipper pays 
the master a per-centage on the sum transmitted ; 
and instances of fraud on the part of the latter are 



56 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



extremely rare. A boy about fourteen years of age 
whom I had as a servant in my house at Singapore, 
used to ask me for a month's wages in advance, to 
send to his mother in Macao. Hundreds of similar 
instances might be adduced. This is one of the 
bright traits in the Chinese character. 

The native traders next in importance to the 
Chinese, are the Bugis. These arrive in October 
and November, bringing in their uncouth-looking 
vessels, large quantities of coffee of very good quality, 
gold-dust, tortoise-shell, native clothes (celebrated 
all over the Archipelago for their durability), beche- 
de-mer, deer-sinews, rice, &c. They come from 
the different ports on the islands of Celebes, &c, but 
principally from Macassar. They are a shrewd race, 
but are no match for their Chinese competitors. 
On the arrival of a boat, her hakoda (or com- 
mander) lands with nearly every man on board ; and 
he may be seen walking all over the place for a few 
days before making any bargain. They are a trou- 
blesome set to deal with, and require the exercise of 
more patience than a European in these parts gene- 
rally possesses. They are, however, always received 
with a hearty welcome by the Chinese of the Island, 
who, inviting them to be seated, immediately hand 
round the siri-box (betel-nut, arica leaf, &c.) among 
them ; and over this universal luxury, they will sit 
and talk on business matters for hours, during which 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



57 



time it may be fairly calculated that both host and 
guests tell a lie per minute, without betraying by 
their countenances the slightest consciousness of hav- 
ing been thus engaged. This strange 'sort of preli- 
minary negotiation goes on, probably, for a week ; at 
the end of which the passer-by may see the contents 
of the different Bugis boats entering the Chinese 
shops or stores, as the case may be. On getting rid 
of his import cargo, the Bugis trader takes a few 
days more to rest and refresh himself, before he 
begins looking round for a return cargo, which 
usually consists of opium, iron, steel, cotton yarn, 
cotton goods, gold thread, &c. He seldom or never 
takes money away with him. On an average, two 
hundred of these boats come to Singapore in the 
fall of the year, each manned by about thirty men. 
Their crews are not allowed to land armed with the 
kriss or any other weapon; a wise precaution, as 
they are rather too fond of having recourse to them 
in the event of any quarrel or misunderstanding 
with those with whom they deal. Notwithstanding 
this salutary regulation, I have witnessed serious 
disturbances, ending, on more than one occasion, in 
bloodshed, between these traders and the bazaar shop- 
keepers of Singapore. What I refer to occurred 
many years ago, however, and is not very likely to 
happen again, as the reins are kept much tighter 
i over them than of yore. They are essentially a 

d 3 



58 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



maritime people, and are not, as far as I have ever 
heard, addicted to piracy. They generally sail in 
small fleets, and are quite prepared to defend them- 
selves against the common Malay pirate, who meets 
a stout resistance when he meddles with them. Like 
most, or, I may say, all the inhabitants of this part 
of the world, they deal more or less in slaves ; and 
it would not be difficult to prove their having sold 
boys and girls in Singapore within these ten years, 
though I firmly believe that the disgraceful traffic 
has been put an entire stop to of late. These men 
visit, during the months in which the south-east 
monsoon prevails, Torres Straits, and the numerous 
islands in that neighbourhood, for the purpose of 
gathering beche-de-mer and tortoise-shell. They 
pick up, also, slaves from Papua (New Guinea), for 
whom they find a ready market in Celebes. Our 
settlement of Port Essington has long been a favou- 
rite resort of the Bugis trader; and were the Go- 
vernment to encourage Chinese and other settlers, by 
giving them grants of land, to establish themselves 
there, there can be no doubt that it would soon be- 
come a very important place, instead of a mere 
military station, or rather place of banishment, for 
some fifty royal marines. As for its being a refuge 
for shipwrecked seamen, I have never heard of an 
instance of a crew of the numerous vessels annually 
lost in Torres Straits seeking shelter there. This 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



59 



state of affairs would be altered, however, were the 
port thrown open to the commercial world. As it 
is, a shipwrecked crew landing there, might have to 
remain a twelvemonth for an opportunity to get 
away again ; consequently, every seaman placed in 
that unfortunate position, pushes on in his open 
boat to the Dutch settlements on the island of 
Timor. 

Next in importance to the Bugis, I may rank the 
Siamese and Cochin Chinese traders, who arrive at 
Singapore during the north-east monsoon. The 
trade of these two countries used to be carried on 
entirely in junks peculiar to each of them respec- 
tively ; but the state of things has been materially 
altered of late. The sovereigns of Siam and Cochin 
China have recently built and fitted- out several 
square-rigged vessels, those of Siam being com- 
manded by Europeans, and manned by natives of 
that country. These vessels are the private pro- 
perty of the kings whose flags they bear, and are 
loaded on their account and at their risk. Their car- 
goes consist principally of sugar and rice, which find 
ready purchasers in Singapore. The sugar of Siam 
is of very superior quality, and is sent up in large 
quantities to Bombay, whence it finds its way up 
the Indus and the Persian Gulf. The rice of Siam 
is a superior article, and has of late been sent in 
considerable quantities to London. The grain is 



60 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



liable to the disadvantage of not keeping so well as 
that of Bengal or Java ; but this fault might, I think, 
be obviated, partially at all events, by adopting the 
Calcutta plan of putting a pound or two of rice-dust 
and lime into each bag : this not only tends to pre- 
serve the rice, but repels the destructive weavil ; a 
little black insect that makes its appearance in wheat 
and rice, in immense numbers, in those warm lati- 
tudes. 

The Cochin Chinese ships generally bring each four 
thousand peculs of sugar, which is of three qualities ; 
namely, sixteen hundred peculs of first quality, the 
same quantity of second, and eight hundred peculs of 
the third sort. The first two are good articles, 
though not equal to the sugars of Siam. The car- 
goes of these ships are so carefully put up, that I 
have purchased and re-shipped them without open- 
ing or weighing more than five bags out of each hun- 
dred, and have never had cause to repent the confi- 
dence thus placed in the seller, who is an employe 
of His Cochin Chinese Majesty. In addition to sugar 
and rice, the Siamese vessels bring gamboge and 
cocoa-nut oil of a superior quality : the former is 
bought up for the London and Continental markets, 
and the latter for consumption in the Straits 1 settle- 
ments. Notwithstanding the monopolizing system 
of the sovereigns of the two countries just men- 
tioned, the trade by junks is still carried on to a 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



61 



limited extent : their cargo consists of the same 
articles as the kings 1 ships bring ; and their owners 
make money in spite of monopoly and of the iron 
rod with which they are ruled. 

At the commencement of the rupture between 
Great Britain and China, His Siamese Majesty 
thought proper to follow the example of his Celestial 
Brother, and to interdict the trade in opium, which 
used to flourish in his dominions. His proclamation 
prohibiting the trade, came so suddenly upon the 
parties concerned in it, and took effect so immedi- 
ately, that many of the opium-traders went into his 
capita of Bang-kok with their usual cargoes, in 
utter ignorance of what had taken place, and found 
their vessels seized, their cargoes confiscated, and 
themselves put in irons and thrown into prison, where 
they were kept till the interference of the Singapore 
Government procured their release as British sub- 
jects trading under the English flag. The restriction 
on this trade has not yet been removed (1844) ; nor 
is it likely to be, till the king finds himself in want 
of money, when he will be glad to allow his subjects 
to resume a traffic that yielded him a large revenue 
in former days. 

Siam produces teak timber of excellent quality, 
which can be had on very reasonable terms ; and of 
this, the ship-builders of Singapore do not fail to 
take advantage. A portion of the Cochin Chinese 



62 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



trade is carried on in vessels so small and so frail, 
that it is astonishing that men can be found to navi- 
gate with them the dangerous Chinese Sea : they do 
not exceed thirty tons burthen. Being wholly un- 
provided with defensive weapons of any description, 
many of them are annually taken by the Malay 
pirates as soon as they make their appearance inside 
Point Romania, at the mouth of Singapore Strait. 
They are lateen-rigged with mat sails, are fast 
sailers, hold a good wind, and have a very pretty 
appearance when entering the harbour in fleets of 
fifteen or twenty sail. 

Singapore is annually visited by a large fleet of 
vessels from all parts of Java : the most important 
of these are what are commonly called Arab ships, 
that is, ships fitted out and owned by Arabs residing 
in Java. They carry the Dutch flag, are commanded 
by Arabs, and manned by Javanese. If fame does 
not belie them, these Arab commanders are notori- 
ous smugglers. This is certain ; that they take 
goods from Singapore in exchange for the coffee, 
sugar, rice, &c, which they bring from Java, and 
that they give prices that would leave them no 
margin for profit, if His Netherlands Majesty's 
duties were paid on them. For this sort of illicit 
trade, the coast of Java offers many facilities in its 
numerous small rivers, with which the Arab ship- 
master is intimately acquainted. The article of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



63 



opium, though strictly prohibited by the authorities 
of Java, is taken by the Arabs from Singapore in 
considerable quantities, notwithstanding the pains 
and penalties attached to its being found on board 
their vessels ; and smuggled into Java the drug 
most undoubtedly is, let the Dutchmen boast of 
their spies and custom-house establishment as they 
will. These Arab ships are built of teak, ranging 
from one hundred and fifty to five hundred tons 
per register, and are altogether remarkably fine 
vessels. 

From the islands of Lombok and Bally, directly 
eastward of Java, the market of Singapore receives 
a large annual supply of rice of fair quality, a small 
quantity of coffee, and some coarse native cloths, to 
which I may add, a few good stout poneys. The 
boats from these islands resemble those from Celebes, 
and are sometimes classed among the Bugis trad- 
ers: they carry back, as return cargoes, opium, 
muskets, copper cash, a little gold and silver thread, 
cotton yarn, and cotton manufactures. These 
islands havet heir own Rajahs and laws, but are 
narrowly watched and kept in check by their 
neighbours, the Dutch. 

Borneo, notwithstanding its vast extent and im- 
mense internal wealth, has but a limited external 
trade. Boats from Sambas, Pontianack, and Borneo 
Proper, visit Singapore every year, from May till 



64 TRADE AND TRAVEL 

October, and bring with them black pepper, Malay 
camphor, gold-dust, rattans, &c. Most wretched 
boats they are, and, according to the accounts given 
to me by their hakodas (commanders), very difficult 
to keep afloat when laden. Little can be said in fa- 
vour of the natives of the sea-coast of Borneo, which 
is, and has been for ages, the haunt of pirates. 
Many vessels, particularly native proas, have been 
plundered, and their crews murdered or carried into 
slavery, by the marauders of this inhospitable shore ; 
and it is not twenty years since a visit to it was 
considered as highly dangerous even in a well-armed 
vessel. Whole fleets of piratical boats ascend from 
time to time the rivers of this island, and plunder 
the native villages, carrying off the females and 
children as slaves, murdering the adult males, and 
setting fire to the houses. *The proceedings of these 
vagabonds have received some severe checks, of late 
years, from the operations of a spirited and enter- 
prising individual, Mr. James Brooke, whose well- 
known zeal and activity are beyond all praise. An 
occasional visit also from one of Her Majesty's ships, 
has done much good ; and the recent operations of 
Capt. Keppel of the Dido, gave them a check they 
will not soon get over. The ascertained existence 
of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the river 
of Borneo Proper, will render that neighbourhood of 
great importance, on the completion of the line of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



65 



steam communication from Ceylon to Hong Kong, 
via Singapore. I believe there is no doubt either as 
to the large quantity of coal to be had there, or as to 
its superior quality. But, upon the subject of Borneo, 
I shall have a few words more to say hereafter. 

The trade between Calcutta and the Straits' settle- 
ments, is both extensive and important. Vessels 
from the Hooghly visit Singapore throughout the 
year, bringing large supplies of raw cotton, Indian 
cotton goods, opium, wheat, &c. In return, they 
carry back vast quantities of gold-dust, tin, pepper, 
sago, gambia, and treasure. It is no unfrequent oc- 
currence, to find the Singapore market pretty nearly 
cleared of the circulating medium after the depar- 
ture of two or three clippers for the " City of Pa- 
laces." Indeed, treasure and gold-dust are, in nine 
cases out of ten, the only safe remittance from the 
Straits of Malacca to Calcutta ; and those who remit 
in other modes, frequently sustain heavy losses, which 
not only affect the individuals concerned, but check 
the trade generally. 

I have now given a rapid view of the principal 
features of the native trade of Singapore, without 
pretending to give a perfect account of it. Before 
taking leave of this pretty little Island, I will add a 
few general remarks upon its condition and pro- 
spects. Its actual state, when I left it in 1842, was 
far from being as prosperous as I could wish. An 



66 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



emporium of the trade of the whole of the Eastern 
Archipelago, its aggregate imports and exports may 
be estimated, in round numbers, at three millions 
sterling per annum. Trade by barter is the system 
generally adopted ; and notwithstanding long-conti- 
nued exertions on the part of the European mer- 
cantile community to establish the cash system, their 
success has been so very partial, that nine-tenths of 
the remittances to Europe and India in return for 
goods consigned here for sale, are made in produce. 
Severe losses have been sustained here, from time to 
time, by the European mercantile firms, in conse- 
quence of their giving credit, to an almost unlimited 
extent, to Chinese and other dealers, many of them 
mere men of straw. During last year, these losses 
have amounted to very considerable sums. This 
has led to renewed and more strenuous exertions to 
establish a cash system, but, I fear, with indifferent 
success. The present state of the bazaars is very 
far from satisfactory : my last accounts state, that no 
one knows who can be trusted. The natural conse- 
quence of such a state of things is, a serious decrease 
in the amount of sales ; and had it not been for the 
demand for Glasgow and Manchester manufactures, 
caused by the high price of those articles in China, 
the importers would have had four-fifths of their 
stocks left on hand. 

Of the state of the public health in Singapore, I 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



G7 



am able to report most favourably. Let any one go 
there and see the European residents of sixteen and 
twenty years' standing, and he will be able to judge 
for himself. During an intimate acquaintance of 
eighteen years with this part of the world, I have 
never known any endemic disease to prevail ; never 
heard of more than one European dying of cholera, 
or of more than three Europeans being attacked 
with that disease ; never knew but one or two cases 
of liver- complaint in which the sufferers had not 
their own imprudence to thank for the attack ; and, 
as far as my memory serves me, cannot reckon up 
tw T o deaths among the European inhabitants in that 
long period. Some one may here whisper, "Look 
at the state of your Singapore burying-ground. , ' 
My reply is, that it is filled by the death of numbers 
who have, from time to time, arrived from Calcutta 
and other parts of India in a dying state, and w T ho 
would have died six months sooner, had they not 
come to breathe the pure air of Singapore. On this 
point, I boldly challenge contradiction. 

As to the commercial prospects of this Island, I 
have some misgiving's. The recent establishment, 
by Her Majesty's Government, of the British colony 
of Hong Kong, and the opening of the northern 
ports on the coast of China, will, I fear, give its 
commerce a check : indeed, it seems inevitable that 
it should suffer from these causes. When we con- 



68 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



sider the vast importance of the Chinese junk- trade 
to Singapore, and take into account the cheaper rate 
we can supply them, now their ports are open, at 
their own doors, with every commodity they require 
from the Malay islands, the risk, trouble, and expense 
they will save by supplying their wants or disposing 
of their superfluities, in the harbours of Shang Hae, 
Ningpo, Foo Chow, or Amoy, instead of undertaking 
the long voyage to the Straits of Malacca for that pur- 
pose, — one is at a loss to conceive on what grounds 
the sanguine expectation can rest, that the opening 
of China will do Singapore no harm. Some of its 
merchants evidently share in my anticipation, as they 
have completed arrangements for forming establish- 
ments at Hong Kong, in order to avail themselves 
of the change they expect to take place in the course 
of the trade. It, will not be this year, nor, probably, 
the next, that this change will take place ; but, that 
it must ultimately come to pass, I can see no room 
to doubt. * 

* Sept. 1845. — -Recent accounts from Singapore in some measure 
confirm this view. It is noted, among other things, that the quan- 
tity of tea imported hy the Chinese junks in the season of 1844-45 
was only 6000 quarter-chests; whereas, in that of 1843-44, the 
imports exceeded twenty times that quantity. Camphor, however, 
continues to come in as large quantities as ever. The opium-trade 
again, has diminished three-fourths ; and my prediction that pepper 
&c would be carried to the northern ports of China in European 

vessels, 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



69 



In other branches of its trade, Singapore will, 
probably, not suffer so much from the late arrange- 
ments with China ; but it will suffer more or less. It 
is extremely likely, that a large portion of the rice 
of Bally and Lombok, the pepper of Borneo, and 
the beche-de-mer of Celebes, will be carried direct 
to China in European vessels, instead of passing, as 
hitherto, through the hands of the Singapore mer- 
chants. Whenever a new mart is opened, there is 
no want of men, money, or ships to take advantage 
of it ; and we can place pepper from Borneo, and rice 
from Bally, in any port on the coast of China, for 
less money, by carrying them there direct from the 
place of growth, than the Chinese can by carrying 
them from Singapore in their junks. These vessels 
only make one voyage in the year ; whereas a square- 
rigged vessel can make three with ease ; and it is on 
account of the greater service performed by the latter, 
that she can carry goods to market cheaper than a 
junk. I repeat, therefore, that I think the trade of 
Singapore has reached its maximum ; and that the 
town has attained to its highest point of importance 
and prosperity. Indeed, it is at this moment rather 
over-built. A beautiful and healthy town, however, it 

vessels, has been fulfilled, though, from this branch of commerce, 
Singapore, or its merchants, will still derive benefit as carriers. The 
Chinese of Singapore have taken up this trade with great spirit, and 
will doubtless continue it. 



70 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



is ; and that it may not suffer materially or perma- 
nently from the causes above mentioned, but continue 
to prosper as formerly, is a wish that comes from 
the very bottom of my heart. 

Singapore is under a Governor, (who also rules 
over Malacca and Penang,) Resident Councillors, 
a Police Magistrate, and some half-dozen under- 
strappers. The establishment is altogether an econo- 
mical one, and, on the whole, well conducted. It has, 
moreover, a Court of Justice, with civil, criminal, and 
Admiralty jurisdiction, which is presided over by a 
Recorder appointed by the Home Government. His 
authority also extends over the neighbouring settle- 
ments of Malacca and Penang. The Governor and 
three Resident Councillors are members of this court. 
In the absence of the Recorder, they can and do 
hold court, and, in extreme cases, carry into execu- 
tion sentences of death passed on their own respon- 
sibility. The late Governor, the Honourable S. G. 
Bonham, held the post for many years, and left the 
Island with the good wishes of every inhabitant. To 
his credit and honour be it said, that, out of the 
many hundreds of civil cases tried and adjudicated 
by him, I never heard of one in which his decision 
was reversed, in the event of the parties petitioning 
for and obtaining a new trial from the Recorder. 
Such petitions, owing to the well-known love of 
litigation inherent in the Asiatic character, were 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



71 



very numerous ; but, in nine cases out of ten, the Re- 
corder saw no reason to grant a new trial ; and the 
few who succeeded in obtaining new trials, would 
have been better off without them, as Mr. BonhanVs 
verdict was always confirmed. 

Five, ten, fifteen years ago, the society of Singa- 
pore was much more agreeable than it is now. Not 
that the parties who composed it then, were more 
pleasant people than the present residents ; but we 
met oftener in those days, and were more sociable 
when we did meet, and, perhaps, opened our doors 
to the stranger oftener than is practised at the pre- 
sent time. One is apt, however, to be biassed in 
favour of the times and the people that seemed to 
ourselves the most agreeable ; I shall therefore say 
no more on this delicate subject. 

The revenue of Singapore is more than sufficient 
to pay its expenses : it arises principally from land- 
sales and land-tax ; from farming out the privilege 
of retailing opium and spirits ; from the rent paid 
for public markets ; and from pawnbrokers' licenses. 
The sums derived from these sources are increasing 
every year. 

The local police are paid, and roads and bridges 
are maintained, from a fund raised by an assessed 
tax of eight per cent, on the annual value of fixed 
property. From this fund, Mr. Tom C with- 
draws a few thousand dollars occasionally, in order 



72 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



to build a new bridge or to make a new road ; a 
proceeding that does not give entire satisfaction to 
the rate-payers, and is indeed hardly fair towards 
them, since the new bridges and roads render avail- 
able large tracts of land that would otherwise be 

valueless, and for which Tom C 's honourable 

masters obtain a handsome price in consequence. 
The inhabitants grumble at these proceedings, but 
can do no more, the sole and whole management of 
the fund in question being in the hands of the local 
Government. 

Singapore is a free port ; and vessels of all kinds 
and from all nations come and go, without paying 
one penny to Government in any shape. All that 
is required of them is, to give in a list of the goods 
they either land or ship. This regulation is intended 
to enable the authorities to keep a correct state- 
ment of the trade of the place ; but it is, I am sorry 
to add, often evaded by ship-masters and their con- 
signees, who seem to think that no trade can be 
profitably conducted without a certain portion of 
mystery attaching to it. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



73 



CHAPTER V. 

DUTCH SETTLEMENTS. 

DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO ISLAND OF BANCA BEN- 

COOLEN PADANG CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE NATIVE 

TRIBES OF SUMATRA PEPPER TRADE. 

In September 1826, I visited China for the first 
time ; hut, having recently paid that country a 
much more extended visit, I shall reserve for a 
future chapter my observations upon Chinese affairs ; 
and shall now proceed to give an account of some 
of the smaller Dutch colonies or settlements which 
I visited about this time. 

About forty miles to the eastward of Singapore, 
on the island of Bintang (Star), is Rhio, a small 
Dutch settlement, producing a large quantity of 
gambia and some thirty thousand peculs of black 
pepper per annum. The bulk of the former article 
finds its way to Java, where it is extensively used 
for dying purposes. Nearly all the pepper is sent 
to Singapore in small trading-boats, and is bought 
up there for the London and Calcutta markets. My 
visit to Rhio lasted only thirty-six hours, during 

E 



74 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



which time I was too busy to be able to look much 
about me ; but I have since frequently sailed past 
the town, and through the beautiful strait of the 
same name, and can vouch for it, that the lovers 
of picturesque scenery will find objects in abun- 
dance to attract their attention. Shortly after 
entering Rhio straits from the southward, the navi- 
gator is completely land-locked, and appears to be 
sailing in a large lake, amid the richest possible 
scenery; nor can he discern the slightest appear- 
ance of an outlet from this fairy scene, till he is 
within half a mile of the west end of the island of 
Luborn, when, all at once, the view opens at that 
part which leads him into the straits of Singa- 
pore. Rhio has the 'character of being very healthy, 
and, from its soil and position, might be rendered 
productive. It is governed by a Dutch Resident, 
and protected by a small garrison and fleet. Of 
the activity of this little fleet against the neigh- 
bouring pirates, I am glad to be able to speak most 
favourably ; and I am bound to add a word in testi- 
timony to its Commander's hospitality and kindness 
to shipwrecked British seamen, which have been 
frequently put to the test of late years, and have on 
more than one occasion called forth from the Sin- 
gapore Chamber of Commerce a vote and letter of 
thanks. 

Shortly after the establishment of Singapore, the 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



75 



Dutch Government proclaimed Rhio a free port. 
This measure, fortunately for us, was adopted rather 
too late in the day to do any injury to the trade of 
Sir Stamford Raffles's pet settlement, or much good 
to its neighbour. It must be somewhat galling to 
the good folk of Rhio, to see some hundreds of 
vessels of all descriptions under the Dutch flag sail 
past their harbour every year, bound for Singapore, 
where they transact business to a large amount; 
favouring this port, probably, with a short visit on 
their return, for the purpose of purchasing a few 
hundred peculs of gambia for the Java market. 

On the north-east point of Bintang, is a dangerous 
reef, on which the clipper-bark Sylph struck in 
1835, and on which she lay for four months, defying 
the fury of the north-east monsoon and the heavy 
rolling swell from the Chinese Sea ; thus proving 
beyond a doubt the great strength of a teak-built 
ship. . An English ship in the same circumstances 
would not have held together a week ; as was subse- 
quently proved in the case of the Heber. 

Mintow (Muntok according to the Dutch) is the 
capital of the island of Banca, so long celebrated for 
its tin-mines. This is a poor town, and very un- 
healthy : it is situated on the west side of the island, 
and faces the straits of Banca, having the low, 
swampy shore of Sumatra opposite. When Banca 
was occupied in common with the other Dutch 

e 2 



76 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



colonies by the British, it proved fatal to nearly the 
whole of the garrison. The Banca fever is, perhaps, 
one of the most dangerous diseases with which man is 
afflicted : those who are fortunate enough to recover 
from it, are subject for life to severe nervous attacks 
at the full and change of the moon. I well remem- 
ber two gentlemen in Batavia, who could scarcely 
lift their hands to their heads at these periods, though 
twenty years had elapsed since they had had this 
terrible fever. The Dutch troops still continue to 
suffer severely from this cause ; and to be sent to 
Banca from Java, is looked upon as the hardest lot 
that can befall a soldier. Its tin-mines continue to 
be very productive, and yield 60,000 peculs of pure 
metal per annum. From this source, the Dutch 
authorities derive a considerable revenue. They 
employ Chinese miners, to whom they pay six 
dollars for every pecul of tin delivered on the coast 
in a pure state, which they sell readily in Java for 
sixteen dollars per pecul ; thus getting ten dollars 
clear profit, less about half a dollar per pecul, which 
it costs to send the tin to Batavia for sale. As far 
as I know, Banca yields nothing else ; and the rice 
eaten by the Chinese miners, is sent regularly from 
Java. 

The rivers on this island are infested by very 
large alligators, which, from the scarcity of food, 
become highly dangerous. Their hunger drives 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



77 



them sometimes to attack boats, as they are rowed 
up the rivers ; and serious accidents occur from time 
to time in this way. I could tell one or two mar- 
vellous tales about the ferocity and bold attacks of 
these river-monsters, but refrain from doing so, lest 
they should lead the incredulous reader of these 
rambling sketches to doubt my veracity. The 
straits of Banca were at one time the resort of 
numerous Malay pirates : the activity of the Dutch 
cruisers has, however, rendered their once dange- 
rous neighbourhood perfectly safe, so far as the 
attacks of these marauders are concerned. I have 
sailed many times through the straits of Sunda, 
Banca, Rhio, Dryan, Malacca, and Singapore, since 
1823, and have known some few European vessels 
and many native proas taken ; but, in all my voyages 
up and down, I never saw a boat or proa that I felt 
certain was a pirate. I have, indeed, seen many 
very suspicious-looking craft off Singin, and between 
that island and the north end of Banca ; but, as they 
never molested us, I am willing to let their charac- 
ters pass free, so far as I am concerned. 

The once thriving settlement of Bencoolen, (or 
Fort Marlborough,) which I visited at different times 
between 1828 and 1830, I found, even then, to have 
declined very seriously from its former prosperity. 
Previously to its transfer, in 1825, to the Dutch, 
great exertions were made to render this settlement 



78 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



important for its exportation of spices of all descrip- 
tions; and, so far as regards nutmegs, mace, and 
cloves, those exertions were eminently successful. 
Planters and others, however, soon found that, on 
the hauling down of the British flag, and the hoisting 
of the Dutch, their prospects underwent a very ma- 
terial change, arising from duties and other charges 
laid on the commerce of the place. Most of the 
capitalists retired with the British establishment, of 
which, indeed, they formed a part. A hard struggle 
was maintained by those planters who remained 
behind, but without success ; and the place is now 
very little more than a station for a Dutch Assis- 
tant-Resident and a small garrison. 

Bencoolen harbour is a dangerous one, particularly 
during the prevalence of the boisterous north-west 
monsoon, which blows with such violence on this 
part of the west coast of Sumatra. Ships generally 
anchor close under the lee of Rat Island and reef, 
where they find smooth water, unless the weather is 
unusually severe. This anchorage is seven miles 
from the wharf where merchandise is landed, and 
considerable risk is occasionally incurred by the 
cargo boats in making good this short distance. In 
very stormy weather, ships and boats also are com- 
pelled to seek shelter in Pulo Bay ; a vile, unhealthy 
place situated about twelve miles south-east of Rat 
Island, and surrounded with a low, swampy, agueish- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



79 



looking country. The Siamese suffer severely in 
this harbour from fever and ague, and ship-masters 
are glad to leave it as soon as the weather mode- 
rates. In my time, there was a convenient covered 
wharf at Bencoolen for landing goods, but not a 
vestige now remains : it was originally built by the 
English, and the Dutch have not cared to preserve 
or replace it. In the present wretched state of the 
settlement, indeed, it is of trifling consequence, since 
little difficulty can be found by the few merchants 
from Java who from time to time visit Bencoolen, 
in landing the small quantities of goods they may 
have to dispose of. 

The climate of Bencoolen is the worst it has been 
my fortune to encounter since I left Europe. The 
land wind that sets in about seven p.m., is the most 
trying breeze I ever encountered. To sit in an 
open verandah when it is blowing, is quite out of 
the question; at least with impunity. I tried the 
experiment more than once, and never escaped with- 
out a severe seizure of trembling something like 
ague, within less than half an hour. The injurious 
effects of this land wind may be traced to the swamps 
between the hills in the vicinity of the town, 
which, unlike those of Singapore, are formed by fresh 
water, and are no better than stagnant puddles. In 
passing over these, the wind becomes of course 
charged with malaria, which it distributes in every 



80 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



house between it and the sea ; and woe betide the 
European who fails to keep out of its way ! Most 
places that I have visited, have a healthy, as well as 
an unhealthy season. Bencoolen is an exception to 
this rule, being unhealthy all the year through. 
Even vegetation suffers here from the south-east 
monsoon; and a nutmeg-plantation exposed to its 
dry, parching influence, has the appearance of a 
plantation of heather-brooms more than of any thing 
else.* The natives do not appear to suffer from the 
climate, but seem to be as healthy and long-lived as 
Asiatics generally. Of the character of these natives, 
I can say little that is favourable. They are indo- 
lent, proud, though poor, gamblers, vindictive, and 
far too ready with the knife on little or no provo- 
cation ; they are very fond of dress, and not over 
scrupulous how they gratify this taste ; for which 
purpose I have known them have recourse to theft, 
lying, robbery, and even murder. Had they one single 
spark of energy in their composition, they might be 
a thriving and contented people, possessing as they 
do a boundless extent of rich virgin soil, which they 
are too lazy to clear and cultivate. The place is 
overrun with a race of petty Rajahs and other nobles, 

# This remark applies to the side of the tree that faces the south- 
east only. The north-west side is perfectly healthy-looking and 
green, when its opposite is the very picture of blight and decay. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



81 



who are a social pest, being poor, and yet too proud 
to strain a nerve to support themselves and their 
families. Sir Stamford Raffles succeeded in rousing 
the ambition of these men a little, by giving some of 
them commissions in the local corps, which gratified 
their taste for gay attire, and supplied them with a few 
hundred rupees per month to keep up a little state. 
From my sweeping reproach of the chiefs, I would 
except these Radius,* with whom I have spent many 
pleasant evenings, and who really possessed gentle- 
man-like feelings and tastes. 

The transfer of this settlement to the Dutch (in 
exchange for Malacca) in 1825, was a severe blow 
and great disappointment to all the natives, both 
high and low. At a meeting of chiefs held at the 
Government house, at which the English and Dutch 
authorities were both present, for the purpose of 
completing the transfer, the senior Rajah rose to 
address the assembly, and spoke to the following 
effect: — "Against this transfer of my country I pro- 
test. Who is there possessed of authority to hand 
me and my countrymen, like so many cattle, over 
to the Dutch or to any other power ? If the English 
are tired of us, let them go away; but I deny their 
right to hand us over to the Dutch. When the 

* Radin, a noble next in rank, in the Malay world, below a 
Rajah. 

E 3 



82 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



English first came here, they asked for and got a 
piece of land to build warehouses and dwelling- 
houses upon. That piece of land is still defined by- 
its original stone wall, and is all they (the English) 
ever got from us. We were never conquered ; and 
I now tell the English and Dutch gentlemen here 
assembled, that, had I the power, as I have the will, 
I would resist this transfer to the knife. I am, how- 
ever, a poor man, have no soldiers to cope with 
yours, and must submit. God's will be done." This 
was a bold, straight- forward speech; but it was 
thrown away upon the callous ears of the hearers. 
Delivered in pure Malay, it sounded stronger than 
in this translation. The speaker was an old man, 
with whose power and will for mischief, in former 
days, the British had good cause to be acquainted.* 

The country round Bencoolen is, with the excep- 
tion of the spice- plantations, covered with a thick 
forest. The soil is rich, and, as I have said, might 

* This chief will long be remembered in Bencoolen for his 
reckless daring, when a desire of vengeance for any insult, real 
or imaginary, stirred the devil within him. Many a midnight 
murder was laid at his door, and with justice too, if I am not very 
much mistaken. The last time I saw him, he was very near his 
end, and spoke of his death as calmly and tranquilly as if he had 
lived the purest life imaginable. He is long since in his grave, and 
his family has sunk into insignificance. I do not believe a more 
thorough villain ever walked the earth. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



83 



be turned to good account, by means of a small por- 
tion of energy on the part of the natives. The forests 
abound with the tiger and the elephant. The 
former finds plenty of game to feed on, and, con- 
sequently, seldom molests man. It is not an un- 
usual occurrence for a single tiger to attack a herd 
of cattle when grazing in the neighbourhood of 
their owners grounds : singling out his intended 
victim, he pursues it to the last, without, in general, 
attempting to injure any of the rest. As soon as 
the cattle see or smell the approaching tiger, they 
become quite wild, and run at their full speed to- 
wards their herdsman, whom they surround appa- 
rently for their own protection, and continue in 
great commotion, though without attempting to run, 
till their enemy is either driven away, or has suc- 
ceeded in capturing one of their number. The 
elephant is here of a large size, and is occasionally 
caught in snares by the natives for the sake of his 
tusks, which I have seen weighing one hundred and 
twenty pounds each. This huge animal is not dan- 
gerous to man, unless his path is crossed, when, 
particularly if a single male one, he becomes a 
formidable neighbour. He is easily tamed ; but the 
native here is too indolent to trouble himself with 
the task. The only one I ever saw made use of, was 
sent by the King of Acheen to Sir Stamford Raffles, 
and was, in my time, the property of my friend, Mr. 



84 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Robert Bogle. Strange stories are told of the power, 
sagacity, and cunning of this monarch of the woods. 
Among other feats, the natives say, it is not uncom- 
mon for one elephant to lie down, and let another 
stand upon his back, in order that he may reach 
higher up a cocoa-nut tree, and have a better chance 
of pushing it down. I tell the tale as it was told to 
me, not caring to vouch for its truth. 

Bencoolen is occasionally visited by the hill tribes 
from the mountains in its neighbourhood : they come 
down in bands of ten, fifteen, or twenty men, bring- 
ing with them gold-dust to barter for opium. As 
neither rice nor cocoa-nuts grow in the elevated 
region inhabited by them, they usually bring also a 
few bags of potatoes to exchange for those luxuries. 
They are a hardy race of men, strongly built, of 
middle stature, and have very thick black beards ; a 
singular feature in an inhabitant of this island. I 
am sorry to add, that they sometimes visit the coast 
for other and less legitimate purposes than barter ; 
and that their kidnapping children to make slaves of, 
is no uncommon occurrence. Several instances of 
this kind took place in 1829, within my certain 
knowledge. 

I have frequently heard it said, "Go where you 
will, you are sure to find a rat and a Scotchman." 
My having visited Bencoolen enables me to contra- 
dict this aphorism ; for I there found abundance of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



85 



rats, one Englishman, and not a single Scot. I 
must confess, however, that this is the only place 
in which I have ever found the Englishman without 
the Scot. 

Cock-fighting is carried on to a great extent here, 
and is indulged in by the natives, high and low. On 
market-days, vast numbers of natives may be seen 
wending their way to the cock-pit attached to eacli 
market or bazaar, with one of the celebrated Malay 
game-cocks under their arms. At the pit, some 
hundreds of these birds may be seen in the hands of 
the fanciers, who weigh and examine them thoroughly 
before betting on them. As soon as the bets are ar- 
ranged, the two birds first on the list are brought 
into the centre of the pit, and armed by their own- 
ers with a fearful spur about four inches long, of the 
shape of a scythe, and as sharp as a razor. The 
combat seldom lasts a minute, the first charge gene- 
rally rendering one, and frequently both the com- 
batants hors-de-combat, by inflicting on them mortal 
wounds. Then begins the most disgusting part of 
the scene. The owner of each bird takes him up, 
blows into his mouth and eyes, and uses every exer- 
tion to make the poor tortured victim give the last 
peck to his adversary. Failing this last peck, the 
battle is a drawn one. Bets are usually paid, parti- 
cularly in the country, in gold dust, which is weighed 
out in small ivory steelyards kept for the purpose. 



86 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



The Dutch, with their usual policy, derive a revenue 
from every cock-pit within their boundary here. 
For my own part, I am not inclined to blame them, 
and think our revenue at all the three Straits' settle- 
ments might be materially increased, and the scamps 
of those places kept in better order, by having every 
gambling-house in them registered and subjected to a 
tax. To put a stop to gambling in any Asiatic town, 
is beyond the power of man ; and the attempt to do 
so, only drives the gamester to the secret haunts 
where he may indulge his propensity, and where, I 
fear, too often he becomes a witness of, if not a par- 
ticipator in deeds of blood. As a grand juror in 
Singapore, I have had evidence enough of this. 

From Bencoolen, I proceeded to Padang, another 
Dutch settlement, about two hundred miles up the 
coast of Sumatra. Padang, as its name implies, is 
situated in a plain, and is a very few feet above the 
level of the sea ; yet, it is a healthy place. It was 
once in possession of a considerable trade, but this 
has diminished of late years, in most articles, except 
coffee, of which I am told it now exports 60,000 
peculs per annum. The harbour or anchorage is 
about five miles from the mouth of the small river 
on the banks of which the town stands, and is a dan- 
gerous one in boisterous weather, having little or no 
protection from the fury of the north-west monsoon. 
The trade from Java to this part of Sumatra, con- 



IN THE FAR EAST, 



87 



sists principally of rice, salt, native clothing, and a 
few supplies for the European and Chinese inhabi- 
tants of the place : in return, it sends coffee and 
pepper. There is a disgraceful traffic carried on 
between Padang and the island of Nias, a little fur- 
ther up the coast, by Chinese, who visit that island, 
and purchase hundreds of its inhabitants, for whom 
they find markets all along the coast. Those brought 
to Padang, are not, indeed, sold as slaves ; but they 
are registered at the Resident's office, and held as 
bond-debtors for different terms of seven, fifteen, 
and even twenty years : during this servitude, they 
are treated as slaves, but are free at its expiration ; 
they have also the option of buying their liberty in 
the meantime, if they can raise the means ; and the 
proprietor is not at liberty to refuse a sum equiva- 
lent to the value of the unexpired term of service. 
This value is fixed thus: on the registering of a 
debtor, a certain sum is put down as his value or 
debt; say 400 rupees; of this sum, a certain pro- 
portion, say 20 rupees, is placed to his credit for 
every year he serves ; so that, if he serves his master 
for five years, his debt is reduced to three hundred ru- 
pees ; and this sum, the master is compelled to accept 
as the price of his liberation. If a debtor has a 
hard master, he is at liberty to induce another to buy 
his services ; and the transfer cannot be declined, if 
the sum due is forthcoming. These Nias people are, 



88 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



men and women, a much fairer race than Malays, 
and speak a language of their own. Many of the 
men become expert carpenters, bricklayers, black- 
smiths, &c, which enables them to earn money and 
purchase their freedom ; and for such skilled artisans, 
the master can demand no more as the price of their 
freedom than the balance due upon their services. 
I have seen boat-loads of these poor creatures landed 
at Padang, consisting of old men, women, boys, girls, 
and mere infants, looking wretched enough, and 
marched off to the police-office to be registered and 
sold. This is a black spot in the Dutch administra- 
tion of affairs in Sumatra. 

The proceedings of the Dutch on the coast of Su- 
matra, are a sore subject to the Singaporeans, as 
having interfered with their trade with the north- 
west coast of the island. By means of the exten- 
sion of the Dutch posts from Padang into the in- 
terior, they compel the native to carry his coffee 
thither, instead of taking it, as formerly, down the 
Siak river, and thence to Singapore. This accounts, 
in a great degree, for the increase in the export 
of that berry from Padang, from thirty to sixty thou- 
sand peculs per annum, between the year 1828 and 
1838. 

Padang is very subject to frequent earthquakes, 
being surrounded with volcanic mountains. To look 
at its houses, one would think that a single shock 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



89 



would level the whole town. The best of them con- 
sist of a frame of wood, each post standing on a 
single stone, which is simply laid on the ground, 
not let into it ; the vacancies between the posts and 
the cross-pieces of framework, are filled up with 
lath and plaster; and the roof is almost invariably 
of thatch. They resemble huge stools resting upon 
stones, to keep the legs from sinking into the earth, 
and look as if the first breeze would upset them. An 
earthquake shakes them, and makes them vibrate, 
but seldom or ever injures them ; whereas a brick 
and mortar house, subjected to the same severe trial, 
would certainly give way, unless it were of very 
substantial workmanship. I have experienced se- 
veral severe shocks of earthquakes, both here and 
at Bencoolen, and at first felt very much disposed to 
quit the house ; but custom reconciles one to almost 
every thing, even to seeing your dwelling-house 
dancing, or " Jumping Jim Crow.'" 

Since the Dutch got possession of this part of 
Sumatra, they have almost constantly been at war 
with a neighbouring tribe of natives, who, from 
their fanatical zeal in the cause of the Mohammedan 
faith, have obtained the name of Padres; and the 
war is called the Padre war. These men have occa- 
sioned the Government a vast deal of trouble, and 
cost it a mint of money, as well as many valuable 
lives. When beaten in the field, they suddenly dis- 



90 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



perse and retreat to their mountain fastnesses, where 
they remain to strengthen themselves, and watch 
their opportunity to make a fresh attack on the 
Dutch posts. In this manner they harass their op- 
ponents, and occasionally inflict upon them a very 
severe blow. I heard at Padang, that, when the 
country was ceded to the Dutch, in 1818, these Padres 
had said, they would never submit to their power ; 
and well have they kept their word. 

Sumatra, were it under a European power, and 
peopled as well as Java is, would soon rival that 
island. Its soil is, for the most part, equally fertile, 
and yields coffee, pepper, nutmegs, &c. Only a small 
portion of the territory is subject to the Dutch : the 
remainder is inhabited by various tribes, who speak 
different languages, and mix but little together. 
They are mostly an indolent people, and require 
driving by their chiefs to make them work for a 
day or two now and then. The comparatively 
small produce exported from this large and fer- 
tile island, is obtained almost entirely by forced 
labour. 

The pepper trade of the ports to the northward of 
Padang, has ceased to be a profitable one, and is now 
neglected. European shipmasters used to complain 
bitterly of the roguery practised upon them by the 
native dealers ; but who taught the native his roguish 
tricks ? Who introduced false weights ? Who brought 



IN THE EAR EAST. 



91 



to the coast 56lb. weights with a screw in the bottom, 
which opened for the insertion of from ten to fifteen 
pounds of lead, after their correctness had been tried by 
the native in comparison with his own weights ? Who 
made it a regular rule, in their transactions with the 
native dealer, to get 130 catties of pepper to the 
pecul, thus cheating him of thirty per cent, of his 
property ? I challenge contradiction, when I assert, 
that English and American shipmasters have for 
thirty years been addicted to all these dishonest prac- 
tices. The cunning and deceit of the native traders, 
at the pepper ports of Sumatra, have been taught 
them by their Christian visiters, and forced upon 
them in self-defence. An acquaintance of mine, who 
had made some purchases from a native, went on 
shore next morning to receive the goods. When the 
pepper was being weighed, he told the native clerk, 
he was cheating. The man denied it, and told the 
party he lied. The European raised his fist, and 
threatened to chastise the native, who coolly put his 
hand on his ever-ready hris, and said, " Strike, sir/' 
The raised hand dropped to its owner 1 s side, and well 
it was that it did so ; or the party would not have lived 
to tell the tale of his having threatened the clerk of a 
Sumatra Rajah. A large portion of the pepper used 
to be paid for in dollars ; and it is a singular fact, 
that, notwithstanding the number imported in this 
way, no one ever saw a single dollar exported, or 



92 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



seems to know what becomes of them. It is gene- 
rally supposed, that the Rajahs buy them, and that 
they often die without revealing where their trea- 
sure is deposited. Be this as it may, it is very diffi- 
cult, under any circumstances, to extract a dollar 
from the chiefs of this coast. 

The trader in this part of the world, works hard 
for whatever he may earn, having to encounter much 
severe weather, and to go through a heavy surf every 
time he lands. Indeed, so heavy and dangerous is 
the surf, that few ships 1 boats are fit to go through 
it. The shipmaster generally rows to the back of it 
in his own boat, and obtains one from the shore to 
land in. Of this, the native does not fail to take ad- 
vantage in the event of any dispute, knowing that 
his customer cannot leave the shore without a boat, 
to be had only through his influence ; and it is no 
uncommon thing for the European to be detained all 
night, and made to settle accounts in the morning 
before going off. The coast of Sumatra, from Acheen 
Head to Flat Point, (its two extremes in this direction,) 
is a highly dangerous one, being iron-bound, with a 
heavy surf and many reefs off it. I envy not the 
man who has to make his voyage here against the 
north-west monsoon. The Dutch are extending their 
ports on the sea-board from Padang northward, and 
will ere long reach Acheen Head ; when they will have 
a struggle, if the Acheenese people possess a moderate 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



93 



portion of their ancient gallantry and hatred of Eu- 
ropeans.* 

* Since my return home, I have seen an account of the proceed- 
ings of two of Her Majesty's sloops on the coast of Sumatra from 
Acheen eastward. Sir W. Parker, with his usual promptitude, 
sent them there from Penang, to punish the perpetrators of some 
acts of piracy lately committed on British vessels. The service has 
been most effectually performed ; and the marauding native has been 
taught, that, distant as he may be, punishment is the certain result of 
meddling with the flag of England. The ships of war in and about 
the straits of Malacca, would do much good to the commerce of their 
country by an occasional visit to Acheen and the coast of Pedir. 
There is nothing like the sight of a few eighteen-pounders for 
keeping the domineering Malay Rajah in check. 



94 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



CHAPTER VI. 

MALACCA AND PENANG. 

Malacca, which I first visited in 1829, and have re- 
peatedly revisited, is completely shorn of its ancient 
glory, and is no longer of the slightest importance, 
either as a military position or as a trading mart. 
Penang, at one end of the Straits, and Singapore at 
the other, have destroyed its prosperity; and it is 
now a poverty-stricken place, with little or no trade. 
The town is built in the old Dutch fashion, each house 
with its out-offices forming a square with a yard in 
the centre. The Government offices are still held in 
the ancient Stadt-House, a venerable pile built by 
the worthy Dutch burghers some hundred and fifty 
years ago, and retaining to this day its ancient fur- 
niture of ebony, many pieces of which, by the way, 
have lately supplied patterns for modern sofas and 
other furniture. The European population is com- 
posed almost entirely of the civil servants of the 
Government and the military men, who reside prin- 
cipally in the immediate neighbourhood of the town, 
not liking their Malay neighbours well enough to feel 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



95 



inclined to spread far into the country. Some few 
attempts have been made, within the last fifteen 
years, to establish nutmeg and other plantations at 
Malacca; I fear, without much success. Not that 
the trees do not thrive, but that labour is scarce, 
owing to the prevailing indolence of the people in 
this part of the world. Moreover, occasional dis- 
turbances among the natives render a residence on 
the spot (without which little success can be ex- 
pected) any thing but pleasant. The place is a bur- 
then to the East- India Company, as its revenues do 
not pay half its expenses. 

The country round Malacca is mountainous, and 
covered with large timber. In its neighbourhood 
are several tin-mines, which yield a metal some 
twenty per cent, inferior to that of Banca. This tin 
finds its way, like every thing else in the Archipelago, 
to Singapore, where it has of late fetched only thir- 
teen dollars and a half per pecul. 

There is a race of men at Malacca, who appear to 
be the descendants of some natives of Malabar who 
settled there a century ago, and Malay women; 
a bad breed certainly, and the men I speak of seem 
to possess all the devilry of both races. Numbers of 
them visit Singapore from time to time, bringing^ 
among other things, thousands of the Malacca canes 
which are so much esteemed in England. They have 
other employments, if fame does not belie them, not 



96 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



quite so creditable to their characters. Here, also, 
may be found many descendants of the old Portu- 
guese inhabitants, who have here, as elsewhere all 
over the East, degenerated sadly, and, but for their 
dress, could not be distinguished from the other 
natives, except that the latter are a much finer race. 
These Portuguese are, for the most part, wretchedly 
poor, and, apparently, will soon become extinct. Very 
few of the descendants of the old Dutch inhabitants 
are to be found here now : those still remaining are 
principally shopkeepers, and are much more respect- 
able in every way than their Portuguese fellow sub- 
jects. Slavery, until lately, existed in a domestic 
form in Malacca ; it has, however, been completely 
done away with through the representations and 
exertions of the late Governor, Mr. Bonham. 

Malacca forms a pretty picture from the sea, and, 
to the passer-by, seems an attractive spot : his disap- 
pointment, on landing, however, would be great, and 
few inducements to prolong his stay will be found, 
excepting the climate. This, to the invalid from 
Bengal, is a treat, on which I have heard many 
expatiate in glowing terms after their return, with 
renewed health, to Calcutta. 

Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, is, perhaps, the 
most beautiful of the three Straits settlements, though 
it is certainly not the most salubrious, being occa- 
onally visited by a very severe fever, which, in my 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



97 



time, carried off many of the European inhabi- 
tants. * 

Here, the nutmeg and the clove come to perfection ; 
and the produce of Penang commands higher prices 
in the London market, than the spice of any other 
country with which I am acquainted. The estates of 
Mr. Brown are the finest on the Island ; and the ho- 
spitality of their proprietor is unsurpassed. Of late 
years, the profits of spice-plantations have become 
somewhat precarious, as the supply in the European 
markets has exceeded the demand. This has turned 
the attention of several of the leading people on the 
Island to the sugar-cane, which thrives here well, and 
is now to be seen covering large tracts which very 
recently were lying waste. The sugar-planter here, 
however, labours under the same disadvantage, as to 
import-duty in England, as his brother planter of 
Singapore, which, if not altered, will mar his prospects. 
Strong representations on the subject have been 
made to the Bengal Government, and (I believe) to 
the Court of Directors, as yet without effect 

The revenue of Penang is derived from the same 
sources as that of Singapore, but falls short of the 
annual expenses of the place. This may be accounted 

* At this moment, I cannot recal to recollection a single existing 
resident of Penang who has not arrived there since 1829. The 
Europeans of that time have all, or nearly all, been removed by- 
death. 

F 



98 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



for by the falling off in its trade, and the decrease 
in its population, since the establishment of the last- 
named settlement. It still retains a considerable 
trade with Sumatra, the coast of Coromandel, and 
Calcutta, but its direct trade with England is almost 
entirely cut up. It is also the depot for the tin col- 
lected at Junkseylon, and other places on the Malay 
coast immediately opposite. Altogether, however, the 
establishment of Singapore has very much injured 
Penang, and thinned its population, rendering its 
houses of little or no value, and giving to its streets 
a deserted appearance from which they will never 
recover. 

The plain on which the town stands, is bounded 
on two sides by the sea, and, beyond the town, is 
dotted over with pretty garden-houses : it is inter- 
sected in all directions by good roads, which are lined 
throughout with the prettiest of all hedges, composed 
of the dwarf bamboo. Beyond this plain, the 
country becomes hilly and covered with woods, 
except a spot here and there, where the spice-planter 
has made his clearing, and built his bungalow. On 
the tops of several of these hills, which are higher 
and more extensive than those of Singapore, may be 
seen bungalows for convalescents, approachable only 
by a bridle path, up which the stout little poneys of 
the Island carry bravely the health- seeking or plea- 
sure-seeking party. These spots are delightful resi- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



99 



dences; and the climate is cool enough at night to make 
a blanket on the bed most welcome and comfortable, 
I have my doubts whether these are fit places for the 
invalid to resort to, particularly if his complaint be 
of a pulmonary nature. Immediately after sunset, 
the hill top is enveloped in a dense fog, which makes 
every thing in the house feel damp, and which does 
not disappear till ten a.m. next day. It were worth 
while to ride up one of these hills, for the sole pur- 
pose of watching the clearing off of the fog in the 
morning : the visiter taking his stand in the veran- 
dah about nine a.m., and looking down, in the direc- 
tion of the plain, on the dense mass of fog hanging 
over the town and suburbs, sees it by degrees clear 
away like a curtain slowly withdrawn, and the houses, 
roads, bridges, &c, appear below him as if springing 
up there by magic. Add to this, the fleet of shipping 
in the harbour, the opposite plains of Province Wel- 
leslev, and the distant mountains towering in the skv 
beyond, and a scene may be imagined, that can 
scarcely be described ; at least, not by my feeble pen. 
When I first visited Penang, Province Well esley was 
a wilderness, inhabited only by a thin Malay popula- 
tion and numerous tigers.* It now wears another 
and more pleasing aspect, large tracts of its fertile 

* Although the jungles of Penang abound with tigers, I have 
seldom heard of their preying on man, as they do in the neighbour- 
ing settlement. 

F 2 

JLofC. 



100 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



soil having been cleared and brought under cultiva- 
tion. I know no better spot for the culture of sugar ; 
and if it does not pay the planter here, those of Penang 
or Singapore have but a poor prospect.* Penang 
harbour is a very commodious and safe one, formed 
by the narrow strait between that island and 
the main land. Ships of three hundred tons may 
here lie within pistol-shot of the wharf in perfect 
safety. I have never seen the phosphoric light occa- 
sionally thrown out by salt-water, so brilliant as it is 
here. I recollect being very much struck with it, 
while sailing out of the harbour about eight o'clock p.m. 
We had a fresh breeze, and each tiny wave looked like 
a flash of very bright flame, while the ship's wake 
resembled the tail of a brilliant comet, more than 
any thing else.' I leave the naturalist to account for 
this. 

* Oct. 1845. — Penang has increased in importance since the 
foregoing was written. Its sugar-planters have continued their exer- 
tions with energy, sparing neither trouhle nor expense to make their 
plantations profitable investments. It gives me much pleasure to be 
able to add, that their success seems certain, and that their perseve- 
rance in petitioning Government on the subject of duties, has at 
length been rewarded, as it ought sooner to have been. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



101 



CHAPTER VII. 

CALCUTTA. 

FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA — STATE OF SOCIETY — MERCAN- 
TILE CHANGES UNPLEASANT CLIMATE SIGHTS AT AND 

NEAR CALCUTTA IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT AND NA- 
VIGATION — CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE PILOT SERVICE 

CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES RIVER STEAMERS. 

In 1829, I visited for the first time the far-famed 
city of Calcutta, and have since then paid it four 
visits. So much, however, has been written about 
the " City of Palaces," that it must be nearly as well 
known to the English reader as London itself ; and I 
shall therefore say less respecting it. 

The feeling I experienced on first making the 
land at the mouth of the Hooghly, was extreme 
disappointment. To a stranger coming, as I did, 
from Java, Singapore, and Penang, nothing can have 
a more dreary and desolate appearance than the 
land about and below Kedgeree. The very sight is 
almost enough to bring on the ague; and the abomi- 
nably filthy water of the holy stream heightens the 
feeling of disgust. From Kedgeree to Diamond 



102 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Harbour, the view on the low banks of the river 
improves but little. Above Diamond Harbour, the 
river banks are somewhat higher, buildings are more 
numerous, and the country appears more cleared 
and brought under cultivation. On arriving at 
Garden Reach, the stranger may begin to imagine 
that not wholly without reason Calcutta has acquired 
the proud title of the " City of palaces. 1 ' From the 
lower part of this Reach, on the right, the river 
bank is laid out in large gardens, each with a hand- 
some mansion in its centre; and the whole scene 
speaks of opulence and splendour. Of late years, 
these magnificent residences have been much neg- 
lected, and what was once the most fashionable 
part of the suburbs, has been nearly deserted by the 
great folk. The reason assigned for this, is, that the 
river, in very wet seasons, overflows its banks, breed- 
ing malaria and fever, from which, at the time of 
my second visit, the inhabitants suffered not a little. 
For a year or two, these mansions stood empty ; 
but, when I last saw them, in 1840, they were nearly 
all occupied by mercantile men, who find them plea- 
sant retreats from the bustle of the city, and seem 
willing to brave the chance of fever. On approach- 
ing the head of Garden Reach, the stranger all at 
once beholds Fort William and the town of Calcutta 
spread out before him; and a splendid view it is. 
Should he arrive in the month of November or 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



103 



December, he will behold, perhaps, the finest fleet of 
merchant shipping the world could produce. Here 
are seen, besides the flag of Old England, those of 
America, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Ara- 
bia. I must not forget to mention the floating 
taverns or large passenger ships, which carry home 
from twenty to forty passengers every voyage ; and 
besides the fleet of large ships, the river presents 
steamers, pleasure-boats, and native craft of all 
sorts and sizes, from the gay budyeroiv, to the 
wretched and more than half rotten dhingy. The scene 
has, however, its drawbacks. The stranger is 
shocked and disgusted at the sight of some half- 
dozen dead bodies floating down the river, in all 
stages of decomposition, some with a vulture perched 
on them, gorging himself as he floats down the 
stream on his hideous raft. Government has placed 
people above the town, for the express purpose of 
sinking dead bodies and similar nuisances ; but they 
have not succeeded in effecting their object. The 
last time I went up the river, four human corpses 
passed my boat between Kradd's Dock and Colvin's 
Grant, a distance of two miles. 

Nothing strikes the stranger, on landing for the 
first time in Calcutta, so much as the extraordinary 
aggregation of palaces and mansions, ordinary dwell- 
ing-houses, warehouses, shops, bazaars, stables, huts, 
and hovels, all mingled together in glorious confu- 



104 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



sion, a few streets forming the only exception. This 
is a great eye-sore even to the old resident. I know- 
no part of the world where society is divided into so 
many ranks and classes as it is here, nor where 
pride and pomp hold their heads higher. To hear 
some of the great ones of this city talk, you would 
think they had sprung from a long line of princely, 
or, at least, of noble ancestors. It is often observed, 
however, that they seldom or never mention their im- 
mediate progenitors, nor the whereabouts of their 
birth-place, which, in nine cases out of ten, would be 
found to be some humble cottage on the bank of a 
modest brook in England, or burn in Scotland. The 
more obscure or lowly their origin, the more difficult 
of access they are generally found. The real gentle- 
man is easily discovered by his superior breeding 
and genuine urbanity. 

In former days, a young man arriving at Calcutta 
as a writer, had no difficulty in raising money by 
borrowing from some wealthy circar ; and many of 
those very young men are still hampered with debts 
they can never pay : though high in office, and en- 
joying large salaries, they are tied to the country 
by their creditors, to whom they are obliged to give 
a large portion of their earnings. Times have now 
changed, and the native has learned from dear- 
bought experience, that the European is not always so 
worthy of confidence as he at one time thought him. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



105 



When I first knew Calcutta, some half-dozen mer- 
cantile firms swayed the trade of the place, and car- 
ried every thing before them. Their influence with 
the monied natives was great, and their command of 
ready cash was proportionably large. This led them 
into all sorts of wild speculations, and ultimately 
proved their ruin, the whole of these houses having 
failed (if my memory does not deceive me) before 
the end of 1832. In spite Of these failures, (which 
ruined hundreds of widows and orphans,) the confi- 
dence of the natives was not utterly shaken till 
very recently, when another batch of similar misfor- 
tunes took place, in which many of the old hands 
were concerned under new firms. This has entirely 
broken up the system, and scattered the commerce 
of Calcutta among numerous smaller establish- 
ments, setting the wits of the native capitalist to 
work to find other employment for his cash. Many 
of them have entered upon the opium trade, princi- 
pally .as speculators on the spot, who buy at the 
public sales, and re-sell at a small profit ; preferring 
this to running the risk of the China market. Pre- 
viously to the mercantile break-up just mentioned, 
the members of the leading firms were, with few 
exceptions, as exclusive in their society as the lead- 
ing civilians : their fall has upset these lofty pre- 
tensions, and the mercantile society of the place 
is much improved in consequence. 

f 3 



106 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



For the hospitality of Calcutta I cannot say much ; 
nor do I know a place where a friendless stranger 
landing without good introductory letters, would 
meet with a more chilling reception. I do not speak 
from experience, having fortunately been properly 
provided with credentials ; but I do not say it without 
good authority. Of the hospitality of the military 
gentlemen of the Presidency, and especially of the 
Dum Dum Artillery, I have pleasure in reporting 
more favourably. Calcutta has its theatre, its clubs, 
its races, and its fox-hounds. On the race-course 
may be seen some fine specimens of the Arab horse, 
small compared to the English racer, but unsur- 
passed for spirit and symmetry. Its amusements 
and attractions, however, are so outweighed by its 
wretched climate, that I would rather pass my days 
growing sugar in Singapore, than live amid all the 
splendour of this proud city. 

From April to October inclusive, the weather is 
oppressively hot, with a closeness in the atmosphere 
that renders respiration difficult, and existence, with- 
out a punkah, almost insupportable. I have sat for 
days suffering from the heat, and longing for sun-set 
in hope of relief which never came ; for, even through 
the long night, the thermometer did not fall one de- 
gree. This extreme heat is occasionally relieved by 
a thunder-storm accompanied with a deluge of rain, 
which clears the atmosphere, cools the burning soil, 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



107 



and renders breathing an easy process. The Euro- 
pean inhabitants have many ways of rendering the 
interior of their dwellings cooler than the external 
air; but, with all their means and appliances, they 
are generally terribly exhausted before bed-time 
comes. During this period, the European lady suf- 
fers more than the gentleman, and, by the time the 
cold weather approaches, looks haggard and woe- 
begone. Children also suffer much during the sum- 
mer. In November, the weather becomes cool, and 
people begin to think of balls and other gayeties. The 
winter, however, is not, in my opinion, a healthy 
season, as the bills of mortality will indicate. A 
heavy fog then settles over the city and neighbour- 
hood every night, through which, at sun-rise, one can 
hardly see ten yards, producing not a bracing cold, 
but a chilling damp. This does not last all day, for 
the heat is severe from ten a.m. till three p.m., even 
in mid-winter. The lower class of natives suffer 
much, and great numbers die during this season of 
the year, as they are very careless, bathe in the river 
daily as usual, and are too poor to make any change 
in their dress, which is far from sufficient to protect 
them from the damp nights. The wealthier native 
wraps his shoulders in an ample cashmere shawl ; 
but even he leaves his legs and the lower half of 
his person with only summer clothing. 

During the autumn, Calcutta is a very gay places 



108 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



and makes up for its dullness during the summer. 
This is the season for horse-racing, hunting, shoot- 
ing, and theatrical amusements, into which the nu- 
merous indigo-planters who come to town from their 
plantations about this time, enter with spirit, if the 
crops have been good and prices fair. 

Among the sights in and around Calcutta, I would 
recommend the visiter to make a point of seeing, 
the Mint, the native Bazaars, the Dum Dum Artil- 
lery Station, the Ishapoor Gunpowder Manufactory, 
and Mr. Wakefield's farm at Acra. I mention these 
as having been myself gratified with examining 
them. The Mint is, perhaps, the finest in the world. 
Captain (now Colonel) Forbes, who kindly shewed 
me over every part of it, said, I think, they could 
turn out 500,000 coins in twenty-four hours. In the 
different bazaars, the stranger will find the most ex- 
traordinary collection of commodities, Indian, Euro- 
pean, American, Chinese, and of other countries, that 
he could ever have conceived. The zeal of the dif- 
ferent vendors in crying up and bepraising their own 
goods at the expense of their neighbours, will amuse 
him, while he will feel not a little surprised at the 
cheapness of many European articles, such as crock- 
ery, millinery, hosiery, &c. &c. Should he be a mili- 
tary man, his visit to Dum Dum will delight him, that 
station being the head-quarters of the Bengal Artil- 
lery, and its officers are celebrated for their kindness 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



109 



and hospitality to strangers. With my visit to 
Ishapoor, I had every reason to be pleased. I not 
only saw the whole process of powder-manufacture 
on a very large scale, but met with a hearty wel- 
come from Major Timbrel, of the Artillery, who at 
that time superintended the establishment. The 
river scenery near Ishapoor is much superior to 
what it is lower down ; and a good view of the 
pretty town of Chinsurah,* on the opposite bank of 
the Hooghly, is commanded from Major Timbrel's 
verandah. Acra farm is situated some twelve 
or fifteen miles below Calcutta. 1 visited it as a 
stranger, while waiting in a ship for the flood tide ; 
and its proprietor gave me a most hospitable re- 
ception. Mr. Wakefield has completely established 
the practicability of curing meat all through the 
year in this climate, so as to keep at sea for three 
years. He told me, he killed 25,000 hogs per annum ; 
and, on my asking whether he suspended operations 
during the hot months, his reply was, " No, we go on 
at all seasons." I can vouch for the goodness of the 
hams, bacon, sausages, lard, &c. &c, which he ex- 
ports, and shall be very glad if these remarks should 
lead a purchaser to his door. The muddy creeks 
near Acra farm swarm with alligators, (whether 

*Chinsurah was, until 1825, a Dutch settlement; and we then 
obtained it and Malacca in exchange for Bencoolen, 



110 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



attracted by the smell of blood or not, I cannot say,) 
and they occasionally become very troublesome. 
The day before my visit, Mr. Wakefield had had a 
mortal combat with one sixteen feet long, which he 
succeeded in destroying single-handed, and had 
brought home in proof of his prowess. 

One of the most remarkable objects in or near 
Calcutta, is the celebrated Banian-tree in the East- 
India Company's Botanical Garden on the banks of 
the Hooghly, immediately opposite Garden Reach* 
This tree is, without exception, the most splendid 
vegetable production I ever saw: and its immense 
size and great age may be judged of, when I men- 
tion, that a friend in whom I place the utmost confi- 
dence told me, he measured the circumference of the 
space it shaded at noon-day, and found that, allowing 
eighteen inches square per man, there was sufficient 
room for eighteen thousand men to stand under the 
shade of this venerable patriarch of the forest. This 
could be effected, however, only by removing the 
many stems of the tree which now occupy nearly 
the whole space covered by the branches, and are so 
numerous and thick, that it is impossible to trace the 
parent one. It is a mighty tree, and worthy of the 
proud place it occupies in the first botanical garden 
in the world. 

What a wonderful change a few short years bring 
about in these days of improvement ! When I first 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



Ill 



knew Calcutta, there was no such thing as an over- 
land conveyance for letters; and, as for sending a 
ship to China against the monsoon, no one ever 
dreamed of it. The whole world is now a witness of 
the regularity of the monthly communication with 
England via the Red Sea ; and the passage to and 
from China is made at all seasons of the year, in defi- 
ance of monsoons and all other impediments. The 
spirited owner and commander of the barque, " Red 
Rover," has the credit of first shewing to the world, 
that the north-east monsoon in the Chinese Sea was to 
be conquered by perseverance in a small vessel : his 
success exceeded, I believe, his own sanguine expec- 
tations, and it is pleasing to add, that he was amply 
rewarded in a pecuniary point of view for his exer- 
tions. His example was soon followed by other 
parties connected with the opium-trade; and the 
communication between China, Calcutta, and Bom- 
bay is now regularly kept up all the year through, 
by as fine a fleet of clippers as ever rode the sea, 
commanded by men who appear to defy the weather. 
They make their passages in a wonderfully short 
period of time, and stand high in the opinion of the 
mercantile community of India. They are well 
paid, as they deserve to be, for the trying work they 
have to go through ; and many of them have recently 
returned to their native country with comfortable, if 
not ample independencies. 



112 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Another improvement of great importance to the 
trade of Calcutta, is the facility with which powerful 
steamers can now be procured, to tow ships up and 
down the Hooghly. Any one who has gone up and 
down this river, must be aware of the dangerous 
nature of its navigation, owing to the many mud 
banks, shifting sands, and very rapid current; and 
must be sensible of the comfort of having a powerful 
steamer towing ahead. The saving of time by 
leaving the port under steam, is immense. I re- 
member, on one occasion, overtaking, in thirty-six 
hours from town, two ships that had left three weeks 
before us. The number of lives saved every year 
by these steamers, is beyond calculation. This is 
now so well understood, that passengers make a 
point of ascertaining whether a steamer is to be 
employed, before taking their passage in any ship ; 
and the under-writers willingly contribute towards 
the expense thus incurred, considering themselves as 
repaid by the great saving in what is called " River 
Risk." 

I have heard many complaints against Dutch Cus- 
tom-houses, but the Customs in Calcutta, I can state 
from my own knowledge, are far more troublesome 
and unreasonable. Go to any Dutch Custom-house 
in Netherlands India, and produce your invoice 
through some known agent ; your goods will be 
cleared and passed without further trouble. At 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



113 



Calcutta, no man's word is taken, but every package 
landed or shipped must actually pass through the 
Custom-house. Even opium purchased from Govern- 
ment, and delivered to the purchaser from a Govern- 
ment warehouse, is subjected to this annoying pro- 
cess. Surely the authorities might allow merchan- 
dize purchased from themselves, and delivered from 
their own premises, to be taken direct to the wharf, 
and put on board ship. A Custom-house officer 
might accompany the drug, if it was deemed neces- 
sary, and see it fairly afloat before leaving it. The 
present arrangement involves a useless waste of the 
merchant's time and trouble. 

The Semaphore established from Kedgeree to Cal- 
cutta, is of very great advantage to the shipping 
interest of the place. Any vessel getting on shore, 
or coming from sea in distress, can send intelligence 
of her situation to town in fifteen minutes, and have 
a steamer down to aid her in twelve hours. 

It would hardly be fair to leave Calcutta without 
saying a word in praise of the pilot service. The 
pilots here are paid by Government, and are a highly 
respectable body of men: they enter the service 
when very young, as volunteers, and rise by degrees 
to the rank of masters and branch pilots, the latter 
being the highest grade. Branch pilots generally 
command pilot brigs, which cruise off the mouth of 
the Hooghly for the purpose of supplying vessels 



114 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



that come from sea with pilots to take them up the 
river, and of taking the pilots out of ships bound to 
sea. Master pilots, mates, and second mates are en- 
gaged in taking vessels out and in, while the young- 
sters are employed in heaving the lead, and studying 
the navigation of the rivers. The whole service is 
remarkably well conducted. The work undergone 
by its members is very hard during the south-west 
monsoon ; and they are generally short-lived. This 
may be easily accounted for, in such a climate, by 
their constant exposure to heat and rain, to say no- 
thing of gales of wind and frequent sound duckings 
from the spray of the sea. 

The natives of Bengal are not favourites of mine : 
they are much given to lying and thieving, and are 
sad cowards. It is true, they are not pirates, like 
the Malays ; but this is owing, I suspect, to want of 
courage, more than of inclination. A Malay servant, 
should his master threaten to strike him, will say : 
" Cut my pay, sir, or turn me away if I am in fault, 
but (emphatically) don't strike me. 11 A Bengalee, 
under similar circumstances, would cringe under his 
master's feet, salaam to the ground, beg to be whip- 
ped, but "Oh," would be his cry, "don't cut my 
pay, sir." Nothing used to annoy me so much as 
this excessive servility of the Bengalee servants: 
they will do any thing for pice, pice ; that word 
being repeated by them at least ten times oftener 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



115 



than any other in their vocabulary. With all this, 
they are lazy, and require more looking after than 
any other servants I know. They certainly work for 
little pay, but that little is sufficient to supply their 
families with the necessaries of life, and to leave a 
trifle to put by, if the head of the family does not 
gamble. The palanquin-bearers are the most useful 
men to a stranger : for thirty-five rupees (3/. 1 0,9.) he 
will get a palanquin and six men who will carry him 
all over the town, a whole month, for that trifling 
sum ; they will take him out in an evening, wait pa- 
tiently in the street till he is ready to return home, 
and be at his door by six the next morning, ready to 
obey his orders. The circar, too, is a useful charac- 
ter, but, generally, a sad scamp : he will conduct the 
stranger all over this vast city, shew him where any 
thing is to be had, pay his bills for him, and save him 
a world of trouble ; which he makes answer his pur- 
pose by deducting one pice, or about two per cent, 
from every rupee you may order him to pay for you, 
and by charging a moderate per-centage on what he 
may be commissioned to procure for " Master." It 
is astonishing how quickly these circars find out 
when an old customer or "Master" returns to Cal- 
cutta. I have been visited by mine within an hour 
after reaching town. In one instance, I had come 
up the river in an express boat, and had arrived as 
soon as the mail ; but, presently, in came Master's 



116 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



circar, bowing low, and "hoping Master has had a 
pleasant voyage, and made too much money " 

The mighty current of the sacred Ganges is now 
thoroughly conquered by all-powerful Steam ; and the 
Indian officer ordered up the river to join his corps, 
can now perform in three weeks, the journey that, 
fifteen years ago, would have taken him as many 
months. Never having travelled in the river steam- 
ers, I can say nothing about the voyage; but, from 
their being constantly filled with passengers and 
cargo, I presume they give entire satisfaction. The 
fact of their carrying the European traveller so 
much more rapidly than the native boats can do, 
through the unhealthy Sunderbunds, is of itself suffi- 
cient to induce every wayfarer to take advantage of 
them. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



117 



CHAPTER VIII. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY — PORT JACKSON 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY THE 

PUBLIC-HOUSE NUISANCE SYDNEY JURIES CATTLE 

DEALERS — TOWN IMPROVEMENTS LAWYERS, DOCTORS, 

AND CLERGY. 

Circumstances induced me, in the early part of 
1836, to proceed to New South Wales, where I passed 
three years ; at the expiration of which I returned to 
the Straits in much better health than I had enjoyed 
for years before. 

The ^voyage from Singapore to Sydney, via Java 
Head and Bass's Straits, occupies generally from 
sixty to seventy days ; a much longer period than it 
ought to do, considering the distance, but much time 
and space are lost in getting southward from Java 
Head. Crossing the south-east trade- wind, a ship 
makes nearly as much westing as she does southing, 
and of course has all the former to run back again 
on getting the westerly winds in the latitude of 
38° to 40° south. We were unfortunate in this part 



118 



TRADE AND TRAVELS 



of our voyage, and got no westerly winds till we 
reached the forty-first parallel of south latitude : 
from that point they took us to within a few miles 
of the entrance to Bass's Straits, where we met 
a strong easterly gale, which detained us several 
days. This was in March ; and I would advise ships 
bound from India to New South Wales, in the month 
of January, February, or March, to go to the south- 
ward of Van Diemen's Land altogether : they will 
thus carry the strong westerly winds longer, avoid 
the easterly gales that blow during these months in 
Bass's Straits, and probably shorten their passage 
ten or twelve days. Up the bold and iron-bound 
shore of this mighty island, from its south-east 
promontory to the heads of Port Jackson, we 
ran with a strong southerly gale, and entered the 
most magnificent of harbours after a seventy days' 1 
passage. 

The entrance into Port Jackson is between two 
rocky heads, called, the North and South Head. As 
he former projects rather further into the Pacific 
than the latter, and somewhat overlaps it, the stran- 
ger would have some difficulty in finding his port, 
were it not for the light-house on the South Head ; 
but, even with this guide, the inexperienced eye can- 
not perceive the entrance till right opposite it. We 
ran in with a heavy sea outside, and had scarcely 
got a ship's length inside the Heads, when we were 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



119 



in water as smooth as a mill-pond. The steep black 
rocks on our right looked fearfully near to us, but 
the water is deep close to them, and no difficulty is 
experienced in beating up to Sydney Cove, a distance 
of six miles. The only danger in the way is a shoal 
or reef, bearing; the strange name of the " Sow and 

~ CD 

Pigs' 1 : on it, however, there is a light-vessel, so that 
it may be safely passed, even at night. 

Were all the fleets in the world congregated in 
Port Jackson, they would not half occupy it. From 
the Heads to a mile above Sydney Cove, there is a 
succession of beautiful bays, with deep water close 
to the rocks, and good anchorage in all directions. 
The scenery is magnificent, though, to an eye accus- 
tomed to that of Singapore, the green is not quite 
brilliant enough. A succession of hill and dale, with 

CD ' 

here and there a neat cottage perched on some rocky 
point, the soil clothed with trees, the waters of the 
many bays glistening in the sun, and the distant 
view of the heights and windmills beyond Sydney, 
form a picture that can scarcely be surpassed. 

On landing in Sydney, the traveller from India is 
ready to exclaim, Surely this is not a town some 
seventeen thousand miles from England ! Es'ery 
thing reminds him of home: he sees English ser- 
vants, English tradesmen, English shops ; in a word, a 
regular English town, with its inns and every thing 
conducted on the English principle. I took up my 



120 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



quarters with my family at the Puiteney Hotel, 
where we were made very comfortable, and found 
the terms moderate : the only thing that disappointed 
us was, the smallness of the bed-rooms. Sydney is a 
regularly built town, its spacious streets running at 
right angles with each other. The houses are well 
built, close to each other, with narrow fronts, and 
generally three stories high. Here we have George 
street, Prince's street, King street, Pitt street, Hyde 
Park, the Surrey Hills, — all recalling, by their appel- 
lations, the mother country. Hyde Park, though it 
comes far short of its namesake in London, is never- 
theless a very pleasant spot for a promenade, being 
nicely shaded by trees planted during Sir R. Bourke's 
government, and is an ornament to the town. "Go- 
vernment Domain " is a piece of ground in the rear 
of the Governors house, reserved by Government 
for a garden and pleasure-grounds : it is tastefully 
laid out, and intersected with numerous walks, which 
are open to the public ; and many a pleasant party 
is formed by the industrious classes, who have only 
Sunday to spare for a little recreation in the open 
air. The Surrey Hills are being fast covered with 
gentlemen's houses, for which a better situation could 
scarcely be chosen. Woolloomoolloo, or Darlinghurst, 
as it is now called, is the favourite suburb, and boasts 
of many handsome mansions, each with its garden. 
Among these are the respective residences of the 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



121 



Chief-Justice, the Bishop of Australia, and other 
members of the elite of this metropolis. These 
houses all command a fine view of the harbour with 
its shipping and the surrounding scenery. 

Sydney has its theatre, its club-house, its stage 
and mail coaches, while steamers ply all about the 
harbour, and up and down the coast; an immense 
convenience to the inhabitants of the northern dis- 
tricts of the Colony. It has a large and well-supplied 
market, where the gardeners, farmers, &c. from the 
neighbourhood collect their produce for sale, and 
where, in good seasons, (that is, seasons in which 
rain has been abundant,) the housekeeper may pro- 
cure supplies on reasonable terms. There is also, 
immediately outside the town, a hay and cattle mar- 
ket, where large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep 
are constantly for sale, and generally find ready 
buyers among the numerous emigrants who are 
daily landing on these shores. 

The greatest drawback upon the prosperity of the 
lower orders in Sydney, arises from the public- 
houses, of which there are some three hundred, 
nearly all filled, from morning to night, with men and 
women, too often spending the last penny they possess 
in the world. The magnitude of this evil may be 
estimated from the fact, that, in 1838, the revenue 
derived from ardent spirits and public-house li- 
cences amounted to the enormous sum of 110,000/. 

G 



122 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



sterling. No stranger can take a walk through 
Sydney without remarking with astonishment the 
number of these nuisances ; and the list of drunk- 
ards exhibited at the police every Monday morning, 
will increase his surprise and disgust. So enormous 
is this evil on the sabbath-day, that bands of consta- 
bles patrole the streets for the purpose of clearing 
them of drunken men and women, whom they con- 
sign to the " lock-up." These constables, by the way, 
are extremely brutal in their manner of handling 
any unfortunate wight that may fall into their hands ; 
and I have been frequently disgusted at their barba- 
rity. What better conduct, however, can be expected 
from men, nine- tenths of whom either are or have 
been convicts ? When I was at Sydney, the jail was 
a most wretched place, not half large enough for the 
many unfortunate beings it had occasionally to re- 
ceive. A more commodious one has since been 
erected, with space enough to allow of the separate 
classification of debtors, highway robbers, bush- 
rangers, and felons, which could not be always at- 
tended to in the old building. The jail is cleared 
four times a year by holding criminal courts. The 
calendar is usually very heavy, and the crimes are 
generally of a heinous nature. The prisoner has the 
privilege of choosing whether he will be tried by a 
civil or by a military jury. Many prefer the latter, 
knowing that, whatever the verdict may be, it will 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



123 



be a conscientious one. The civil jury is generally 
composed of publicans, and is always chosen by the 
Sydney scamps, in the hope that a chum or pal may 
be found in the list, which is not unfrequently the 
case. The hardest task the Attorney-General has to 
perform, is, to get together a respectable jury. When 
it is composed of civilians, the prisoner is sure to 
challenge every respectable man in the box. By this 
means, he generally succeeds in getting twelve men 
sworn, of whom two or three are of the stamp he 
requires, — men that will, in vulgar phrase, " swear 
through a six- inch plank" to get him off. It is no 
uncommon case for Sydney jurors, on retiring to con- 
sider their verdict, to exclaim that their minds are 

made up, and that they will be d d if they will 

give a verdict of guilty. Another source of trouble 
to all persons concerned with a court of justice here, is 
the extreme difficulty experienced in extracting truth 
from witnesses. It is almost impossible to conceive 
the effrontery with which nine-tenths of these men 
will swear any thing : they invariably prevaricate and 
contradict themselves when cross-examined, and are 
not unfrequently sent from the witness-box to prison, 
to take their trial for perjury. I remember, on one 
occasion, seeing a father, mother, and three grown- 
up daughters, who came into court to sustain a charge 
against a farmer for an assault on one of the dauo'h- 
ters, committed for perjury, while the prisoner was 



124 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



released without a stain on his name. The crime of 
cattle-stealing, probably, cemes oftener before the 
Judges of New South Wales than any other, particu- 
larly since the punishment for it has been changed 
from death to banishment for life. When death was 
the penalty, many graziers put up with their loss, 
rather than prosecute the offender : now, the cattle- 
stealer is shewn no mercy, from one end of the 
Colony to the other. The Judge has no discretionary 
power with this class of offenders, but, in the event 
of a verdict of guilty, must pass the sentence of ba- 
nishment for life. If the prisoner came free to the 
colony, he is banished to Van Diemens Land : if, on 
the other hand, he is an old convict, he is sent to 
rusticate for the remainder of his days on Norfolk 
Island. Whole droves of stolen cattle are, neverthe- 
less, continually offered for sale in the neighbourhood 
of Sydney, and ready purchasers are found for them, 
the risk of being brought up as a receiver not being 
so great as might be supposed. The regular cattle- 
stealer has stations in the bush, where he collects his 
ill-gotten herds, defaces and alters their brands, and 
keeps them till the new brand has healed and as- 
sumed the usual appearance ; he then boldly starts 
for market in open day, and, though he may be 
met by the former owners of the beasts he is 
driving, he fears nothing, proof of identity being a 
difficult task, when a P has been made into a B, and, 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



125 



perhaps, three or four other brands have been 
added. 

During the administration of Sir Richard Bourke, 
great improvements were made in the streets of 
Sydney, particularly in the direction of the different 
wharfs, from which the ascent used to be frightfully 
steep. To remedy this evil, and at the same time to 
improve the appearance of the town, Sir Richard cut 
away the brows of the ridges, and filled up the hollows 
with the rubbish. This proceeding caused a great 
outcry among those persons who had property where 
the cuttings took place, and whose dwellings, in some 
cases, were many feet above the new level of the 
street. In the course of time, these proprietors de- 
scended from their airy posts, knocked down their 
old unsightly tenements, cut down their ground to 
the proper level, and built new and more sightly 
houses ; so that the Governor's proceedings have im- 
proved both the streets and the general appearance 
of the town, as well as enhanced the value of the 
property wherever the cuttings were made. 

Sydney abounds with doctors, lawyers, and par- 
sons, all of whom thrive here. The lawyer espe- 
cially reaps a rich harvest among a population 
notoriously fond of litigation, and prone to give 
cause for it in various ways. As usual, however, 
the supply has of late exceeded the demand ; and the 
barristers do not now lounge in such stylish car- 



128 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



riages as they were accustomed to be seen in some 
years ago. The medical men's harvest, a sickly sea- 
son, is not a rare occurrence in Sydney, though the 
Colony generally is remarkable for its salubrity. 
The last summer I spent there, the deaths were very 
numerous, and cast a gloom over the place. Influ- 
enza and fevers were the prevailing complaints, and 
were probably attributable to the dry, hot winds pre- 
valent at the time, together with the badness of the 
water in common use, and the intemperate habits of 
the people. The want of a supply of good water is 
much felt. Every house has its pump, but the water 
is not fit for any thing but washing, and is, for the 
most part, so hard, that soap will not dissolve in it. 
Government had commenced laying pipes to supply 
the town with this necessary article ; but, when I left 
the Colony, they had not been brought nearer than to 
within a mile ; and I have not heard of their being 
since carried any further. Water-carts go round, 
selling water at a penny or sometimes three half- 
pence per bucket, which is of a good quality. 

Previously to the arrival of Sir Richard Bourke, 
the clergy of the Church of England were the only 
persons in the Colony that were authorized to marry, 
to bury, or to christen. Sir Richard put an end to 
this extraordinary state of affairs, by his celebrated 
Church Act ; and now, every one may be married by 
the minister of his own persuasion, and follow, in 



IN THE FAR EAST, 



127 



religious matters, the dictates of his conscience. 
Strange as it may appear, Sir Richard's proceedings 
in this matter gave great offence to the magnates of 
the Church of England ; and the Archdeacon went 
home to remonstrate with Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment on the subject. His Reverence took nothing, 
however, by his motion, Lord Glenelg, the then 
Secretary for the Colonies, highly approving of all 
that had been done. But the Archdeacon returned 
to the Colony a Bishop, and, when I left it, was busily 
engaged in erecting a cathedral by public subscrip- 
tion. 



123 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



CHAPTER IX. 

NEW SOUTH WALES. 

TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND — THE PATERSON DISTRICT WIN- 
TER SPORTS THE KANGAROO — AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY 

CONVICT SERVANTS — BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OB- 
SERVANCE OF SUNDAY — THE HOT SEASON. 

From Sydney, I proceeded northward, by steam, to 
Maitland, on the river Hunter, and thence up the 
country bordering on those pretty little rivers, the 
Paterson and the Allyn. 

Maitland puts a Scotchman in mind of the "lang 
toon of Kirkaldy," consisting of merely one long 
street. From its situation, at the head of the navi- 
gation of the Hunter, and the centre of the very first 
agricultural district of New South Wales, it is likely 
to become a large, thriving, and important place. 
The country in the immediate neighbourhood is flat, 
and the soil rich, yielding most luxuriant crops of 
wheat and Indian corn. 

The season of 1838-39 was a poor one for the 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



129 



farmer : flour rose in price to 60s. the cwt. ; and the 
quartern loaf, before I left the Colony, was selling as 
high as two shillings and eight-pence. This was a time 
to test the fertility of the soil round Maitland, as well 
as the benefit it derives from its proximity to the sea. 
During this summer, the whole district was favoured 
with occasional refreshing showers ; its crops were 
forward, and the yield good ; and while crops in the 
southern districts had failed from drought, the Hun- 
ter-river farmers were sending their surplus produce 
to Sydney for sale. 

The township of Maitland is divided into two 
towns or villages, called, East and West Maitland. 
The former has been fixed upon as the site of the 
town by Government, and the latter by the public, 
who have, as usual, shewn more wisdom in their choice 
than their masters have, inasmuch as they have 
planted their town within a few hundred yards of 
the head of the navigation ; whereas the Government 
town is three miles further up the river, and is unap- 
proachable by steamers, or even by small craft. The 
two, however, will be joined together ere long, (most 
likely they are by this time,) as they are rising ra- 
pidly into importance. For the beauty of the coun- 
try between Maitland and the sea, I cannot say much : 
it used to remind me of Lower Bengal, being so very 
flat, and, in some places, so low as to be frequently 
flooded. 

g 3 



130 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Like the houses in almost all new towns, those in 
Maitland form a motley assemblage of buildings of 
all sizes, shapes, and colours. Many of the smaller 
and inferior ones were, however* disappearing, even 
in 1839 ; and more sightly as well as more commo- 
dious buildings were rising up in their place. The 
traveller will find comfortable accommodation at 
either the Union or the Rose Inn; and the charges 
are moderate. He will also have the advantage of 
meeting settlers from all parts of the neighbouring 
country, from whom he will readily obtain any infor- 
mation he may require. Frequent cattle-sales are 
held here; and the beasts are, without trouble or 
much expense, conveyed to Sydney by steam in 
twelve hours. 

The country from Maitland, going up the Pater- 
son, is undulating and generally fertile ; particularly 
the flat lands on the banks of the river. As you 
proceed towards the village of Paterson, you observe 
numerous prettily situated farm-houses with their 
smiling gardens in front, and fields of wheat between 
them and the river. At the village, the navigation 
of this little river ceases ; and the country becomes 
more and more hilly as you proceed higher up : the 
banks of the river, however, maintain their high cha- 
racter for fertility all the way to its source* and 
many thriving establishments are seen as the tra- 
veller pursues his journey. This part of New South 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



131 



Wales, being so hilly, and consequently somewhat 
humid, does not answer the sheep-farmer's purposes ; 
but the grazier finds his cattle and horses thrive well 
on these hills, and the agriculturist finds the valleys 
yield him excellent crops of tobacco, wheat, and 
maize. The first is becoming an article of great 
importance to the Paterson farmer, and has helped 
many of those gentlemen through the difficulties 
from which the Colony has been recently suffering. 

Land on the Upper Paterson was selling, in 1837, 
at 20s. per acre, in lots of six hundred and forty acres, 
of which not more than forty or fifty were arable 
land, the rest being what is called here, common bush 
land, thinly covered with trees, and affording tolera- 
ble pasture for cattle. Purchasers of land at the 
above-named rate, have, I believe, found their bar- 
gains profitable, notwithstanding the heavy expense 
they had to incur in clearing and fencing the arable 
portion of it, in addition to the outlay for a dwelling, 
out-offices, &c. The settler on a small farm of this 
description is almost sure to do well, if he is indus- 
trious, and provided that he keeps clear of that colonial 
pest, the public-house. He will have very hard work 
the first two years ; but his returns will well repay him 
even in moderately favourable seasons, while, in good 
times, they will be very profitable. A neighbour of 
mine raised, in the season of 1 837-38, on eighteen acres 
of fresh cleared land, a crop of tobacco, which he cured 



132 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



and manufactured into negro-head on the spot: it 
yielded one hundred and fifty kegs of 1001b. weight 
each ; and the whole was sold at Is. 4c?. per pound, 
thus giving a total of 900/. This farmer had fifteen 
hands, who, in addition to the tobacco, enabled him 
to cultivate wheat and maize sufficient to supply the 
farm, and to leave 200/. worth for sale. The outlay 
for the twelve months, including every thing, did 
not exceed 350/.; and I have shewn the returns to 
have been 1100/. This slight sketch will afford an 
idea of what an industrious farmer may do in the 
Paterson district. As soon as he can collect a few 
pounds, they may be profitably invested in the 
purchase of some good cows, which will not only 
supply him and his family with butter and milk, 
but will pay well by their annual increase. In 1838, 
stock was worth, in this neighbourhood, as under : — 
Cows, 5/.; Fat Cattle, 1l. 10s.; Working Oxen, 10/.; 
Brood Mares, 40/. ; good Roadsters, 40/. ; Sheep, — 
Ewes, 21., Wethers, 17s. 6d. Things have changed 
since that time : but more of this hereafter. 

During the three years I resided in Australia, I 
lived almost entirely on the banks of the Paterson, 
and the reader may therefore depend upon the cor- 
rectness of my information regarding every thing in 
that neighbourhood. It bears a high character for 
the salubrity of its climate ; and very justly so, ac- 
cording to my experience. Not a member of my 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



133 



establishment was ill the whole time we were there ; 
nor do I recollect a serious case of illness among our 
neighbours. The winter is mild, — just cold enough 
to make a fire comfortable ; while the fine frosty morn- 
ings do great good to one who has arrived from India. 
I used to enjoy them exceedingly, and invariably 
walked out before breakfast to breathe the fine clear 
air. The cold weather sets in in April, and continues 
till September. This is the season to enjoy a gallop 
in chase of that most extraordinary animal, the kan- 
garoo. Notwithstanding that this part of the 
country is rather hilly, the hardy horses manage 
to carry their riders across it in safety. The river 
abounds with wild duck at this season, as well as 
with perch and a small fish here called herring, from 
its resemblance to that fish. The settler may thus 
not only find amusement for himself in shooting or 
fishing, but may make a very agreeable addition to 
his bush fare by his morning's ramble. The flesh 
of the kangaroo is literally good for nothing: the 
tail makes very good soup, but the carcass of the 
full-grown animal is otherwise of no value to the 
European, though the native contrives to make an 
occasional meal of it. The young kangaroo of two 
or three months old, makes a tolerable substitute for 
jugged hare, and is frequently on the tables of the 
settlers. As population advances up the country, 
the kangaroo retires. I have, however, seen some 



134 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



hundreds of a large size in their native woods, skip- 
ping about, and bounding off on the approach of man. 
The notion, that a kangaroo makes use of his tail in 
leaping, is a mistaken one. I have watched them 
bounding along a plain, and could see distinctly that 
the tail never touched the ground. The female, 
when pursued, will retain its young one in the pouch 
with which nature has provided it, till very closely 
pressed by the dogs : it will then drop the little one, 
leave it to chance, and make off with increased speed 
A full-grown male (" old man," the aboriginals call 
them) is more than a match for a single dog, and 
will frequently severely punish a couple of assail- 
ants before surrendering. These animals are easily 
tamed, and make very pretty pets in a garden. 
Speaking of a garden, we had an excellent orchard, 
which supplied us with abundance of apricots, 
peaches, nectarines, figs, green-gages, apples, pears, 
and oranges, while the garden furnished many a dish 
of strawberries : for gooseberries, the climate is not 
cold enough. 

In March and April, the farmer is busied in pre- 
paring his fields for wheat- sowing, which ought to 
be finished by the middle of May. Of this grain, 
the ground here yields a fair crop, though not equal 
to that usually reaped near Maitland : it is, however, 
generally more than sufficient for the use of the dis- 
trict, which may be called a grain-exporting one 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



135 



Some farmers sow wheat on land from which they 
have just reaped a crop of Indian corn : this proves, I 
need scarcely say, in the long run, very bad economy. 
On a farm where wheat, corn, and tobacco are 
grown, there is always abundance of employment for 
old and young. Should field labour be suspended by 
the inclemency of the weather, or by any other cause, 
the farmer finds his servants full occupation in husk- 
ing maize, threshing wheat, stripping, shifting, and 
curing tobacco. I used to keep my convict-labourers 
employed in light work, such as the above-mentioned, 
till ten o'clock at night : this I had no right to exact ; 
but my plan was, to keep a regular account current 
with every convict on the place, giving him credit so 
much for every extra hour he worked, and letting 
him know, every Saturday night, how much was due 
to him, which I allowed him to take out in any shape 
but money or spirits. Giving him the former, would 
have enabled him to procure the latter. It was gene- 
rally taken out in tea and sugar; and I never had 
the slightest trouble in settling these little accounts. 
I had ten convicts assigned to me by Government ; 
and I confess that I would rather have had those 
men than most of the free emigrants that came to 
the Colony. Over the convict, the master has great 
power, the knowledge of which on the part of the 
servant, with good treatment and a firm hand held 
over him, will make him do a great deal of work. 



136 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



The Government allowance of rations does not in- 
clude tea, sugar, or tobacco ; but most masters allow 
two ounces of the first and last, and one pound of the 
second per week ; which not only makes the men 
contented, but gives the master more hold over them, 
as they stand in fear of his stopping the indul- 
gence in the event of misconduct. From my own 
observation I should say, that nine-tenths of the mis- 
doings amongst convict-servants, that one hears of in 
New South Wales, arises from bad masters. What, 
for instance, can be expected from men assigned to 
a drunkard, who not only drinks himself, but makes 
a point of inducing his servants, whether free or 
bond, to take out their earnings in rum, of which he 
has always a plentiful supply on hand ? What from 
the servants of a master who neither pays any atten- 
tion to the Sabbath himself, nor makes those under 
him observe it; who, on the slightest provocation, 
drags his men before the magistrate, and swears 
literally to any thing, to have them flogged ; who 
never affords them the slightest indulgence, and 
whose whole aim is, to get the greatest possible 
quantity of work out of them for the smallest possi^ 
ble outlay ? Nothing tends more directly to promote 
the good order of a farm, than mustering everybody 
on it at noon on Sunday, for the purpose of read- 
ing Divine service to them. Setting aside the moral 
benefit that this practice may be supposed to pro- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



137 



duce, it puts an effectual stop to distant wandering 
on that day. A man who has to appear cleanly 
dressed on Sunday at noon, cannot stray far from 
home either before or after that hour. On farms 
where this custom is not kept up, the convict starts 
at daylight for some haunt where spirits are to be 
had, to pay for which he has most probably robbed 
his master ; there he spends the day in riot and 
ribaldry, and reels home about midnight in a state 
that renders him very unfit for resuming his work 
on. Monday morning. The convict-servant soon 
finds out what sort of a master he has to deal with, 
and, to use their own slang, after trying it on for a 
bit, in nine cases out of ten, he yields to circum- 
stances. Two of mine tried a few of their old pranks 
at starting ; but a timely, though moderate applica- 
tion of " the cat," put an entire stop to them. It is, 
however, useless to say more on this subject, as the 
system, of assigning servants to private individuals 
has been done away with by orders from the Home 
Government. The female convicts are much more 
difficult to manage than the men, and often set their 
masters at defiance : they are generally of the lowest 
and most wretched class of women. 

The summer sets in in October, and wheat harvest 
begins in November. The weather then becomes 
exceedingly hot, and the heat is occasionally in- 
creased by the hot winds that blow from the north- 



138 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



west. These generally (I speak of what I have 
observed on the Paterson) blow for three days suc- 
cessively, with considerable violence, and do no small 
injury to the farmer : they are very dry, make the 
lips crack, and the skin feel as if about to crack ; and 
should they come across a field of wheat just shewing 
the ear, they would blight it to a certainty. After 
expending their force for three days, they are 
usually succeeded by a sharp southerly gale, which 
is frequently accompanied with rain, and soon makes 
every thing not actually blighted look green again. 
Though the sun, during summer, has, apparently, 
as much power as in India, I have never experienced 
any injurious effects from it, though frequently ex- 
posed to its rays all day, both on foot and on 
horseback. The European labourer works in the 
field here through the day, the same as in England, 
and does not seem to suffer from the heat. During 
the hot winds, indeed, he is liable to an almost 
unquenchable thirst, to relieve which, he may drink 
with perfect impunity a large quantity of sugar and 
water; but those who have recourse to water only, 
are sure to suffer for their imprudence, though not 
seriously. 

November and December are the busy months at 
sheep-stations, all hands being then employed in 
clipping the wool and preparing it for market. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



139 



CHAPTER X. 

NEW SOUTH WALES. 

BUSH-RANGERS — THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9 — THE SETTLER'S 
TROUBLES — ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA — ABORIGINAL 
TRIBES. 

On the Paterson, we were never troubled with those 
dangerous characters called in the Colony, Bush- 
rangers. I can give no reason for their avoiding 
this neighbourhood, but know that they did avoid it, 
and that none of the residents in the district ever 
gave them a thought. Other parts of the Colony 
are not so fortunate; and loud complaints are con- 
stantly being made, of want of protection against 
those daring marauders. They are runaway con- 
victs, who take to the bush, either to get clear of 
hard masters, or from a love of old habits ; and, now 
and then, they keep a whole county in a state of 
alarm. Frequent instances of their daring occurred 
during my residence in Australia, some of a fero- 
cious character, while others tended more to excite 
laughter. Three of those scamps visited, at noon-day, 



140 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



a settler's house, and, coolly walking in, called for 
luncheon, and made themselves quite at home. 
While thus regaling themselves, they happened to 
see a violin hanging against the wall, and asked 
their host, whether he could play. On being answered 
in the affirmative, they made him strike up, while 
they danced to his music. When tired of this amuse- 
ment, they helped themselves to whatever struck 
their fancy, and then went to the stable, picked out 
three of the best horses, leaving their own tired 
jades behind, and rode off. The master of the house 
was the only person at home at the time, and was 
unarmed; all his men were engaged in a distant 
field; and he was threatened with instant death, 
should he give the slightest alarm. Resistance, 
therefore, was impossible. Such depredations have 
latterly been much checked by the exertions of the 
mounted police. This very efficient body is com- 
posed of men drafted from Her Majesty's regiments 
stationed in the Colony, who are mounted and dressed 
at the expense of the local Government, and trained 
for their work. They patrole the country in all 
directions, and have captured and brought to justice 
many of the most desperate Bush-rangers, as well 
as given a check to the several organized bodies of 
cattle-stealers. 

Those parts of the Colony most distant from the 
capital, are, naturally, most annoyed by bad cha- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



141 



racters of all description; and many of the set- 
tlers trust to their own strength, more than to the 
police, to defend their property. A friend of mine 
residing in Wellington Valley, three hundred and 
fifty miles west of Sidney, used to arm himself and 
his groom, and sally out in search of any desperate 
character he might have heard of as being in the 
neighbourhood: he was more than once successful, 
and became quite a noted man among the Bush- 
ranging fraternity, who took good care to keep at a 
respectable distance from him. Were some other 
settlers blessed with as much nerve and courage as 
the gentleman I allude to, Bush-rangers would soon 
become less numerous. 

A settler's life in an agricultural district, is plea- 
sant enough, but it has its drawbacks. A season of 
drought makes sad work in his fields, and among- his 
flocks. In the season of 1S3S-39, water became so 
scarce, that many of the best pasture-lands in our 
neigh bouj'hood were of necessity abandoned, and the 
sheep as weH as cattle were kept down on the banks 
of the river, then reduced to a mere chain of pools, 
the intervening channel being quite dry. The herb- 
age was completely eaten up, and the trees in many 
parts were cut down, in order that the hungry animals 
might eat the leaves. One of my neighbours, to 
save his flocks, turned them on his half-grown crop 
of wheat, by which means he saved some thousands 



142 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



of sheep, but lost his wheat. Tens of thousands of 
sheep and cattle, all over the country, died during 
this season ; and grain crops failed everywhere, 
except on the banks of my three favourite rivers ; 
namely, the Hunter, the Paterson, and the Allyn. 
There was scarcely a settler on either of these rivers, 
that had not a little to spare ; while, in less favoured 
parts of the Colony, the farmer had to pay enormous 
prices for flour to feed his men ; and the cart- hire 
came to nearly as much as the cost of the flour. I 
knew one gentleman who despatched from Sydney 
four drays loaded with stores for his stations near 
Bathurst, each dray drawn by seven oxen ; and so 
great was the scarcity of water and fodder on the 
road, that only four of the poor animals reached their 
journey's end, the others having died on the road 
from sheer starvation. Flour rose during this season 
to 60/. per ton, and the quartern loaf in Sydney was 
sold at 3.5. 4ri. 

One of the greatest discomforts attendant upon a 
summer's residence in the bush of Australia, arises 
from the swarms of flies, large and small, that infest 
the house. The large blow-fly is a serious nuisance : 
many a good joint of meat they spoil, in spite of every 
precaution. These insects find their way everywhere, 
and destroy whatever they come near. In the dairy, 
the greatest care is necessary to prevent these pests 
from reaching the milk and butter, which they will 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



143 



taint in a second. Scarcely less of a plague than the 
swarms of flies, are the myriads of fleas which torment 
the tired farmer, and cheat him out of many an 
hour's sleep: these noisome disturbers are in the 
soil, and not all the care the best housewife can 
bestow, can diminish the number. 

While on the subject of the settler's troubles, I 
may mention, that the cockatoos annoy the farmer 
in Australia, as much as the crows do in England : 
they attack his wheat and maize when the grain is 
ripening, by hundreds ; indeed, I may say, by thou- 
sands; and it requires a very active watchman to 
keep them from doing serious injury to the crop, not 
so much from the quantity they eat, as from what 
they destroy and scatter. These birds, which, by 
the bye, furnish an excellent dish that occasionally 
formed part of our dinner, are remarkably cunning ; 
while the flock are busily feeding on the farmer's 
wheat, two of their number are left on some neigh- 
bouring trees to keep watch ; these, on the approach 
of danger, give a loud, shrill scream, which at once 
puts the thieves to flight, and renders it very difficult 
for the sportsman to get a shot at one of them. Be- 
sides the common white red-crested cockatoo, the 
woods are the home of the black species ; a rare bird, 
that I have never seen elsewhere. Those brought to 
Singapore by the Celebes traders, are a bastard spe- 
cies. On what they feed, I am not aware, never 



144 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



having seen them in the wheat or maize fields. 
During the winter months, neither white nor black 
cockatoos are to be seen ; nor have I ever heard to 
what place they migrate. The bird-fancier might 
here make as beautiful a collection as I have ever 
seen. The different varieties of the parrot tribe 
are countless, and extremely pretty : the king-par- 
rot, the lowrie, and the mountain parrot, are, perhaps, 
the most beautiful. Then, there is the pretty little 
diamond sparrow, so called from its size, its habits, 
resembling those of the common sparrow, and its 
plumage, which exhibits a diamond pattern of black, 
white, and blue. Of the hawk tribe, the varieties 
are numerous : the largest is the eagle-hawk, which 
now and then carries off a lamb from the flocks of 
careless shepherds. Were I an ornithologist, I might 
write a goodly volume on the birds of this country ; 
but I must content myself with these few notices ; 
not forgetting, however, to mention the stately black 
swan, a bird becoming every year more rare. 

We used frequently to be visited by tribes of the 
aboriginal inhabitants of this vast continent. They 
are, without exception, the most complete savages I 
have ever come across. They have no homes, no occu- 
pation beyond procuring food for the day, and think 
nothing of to-morrow, which they literally leave to 
take care of itself. They resist almost every attempt 
to induce them to labour, and, if clothed to-day by some 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



145 



good Samaritan, will, in all probability, appear naked 
at his door to-morrow, having given away their 
clothes to some convict, in exchange for a pound of 
flour or an ounce of tobacco. In their habits, they 
are literally wanderers on the face of the earth, shift- 
ing their camp from place to place as game grows 
scarce. In rainy weather, the only precaution I ever 
saw them take, with a view to protect themselves 
from wet, was the building a small hut, not much 
larger than a bee-hive, constructed of the boughs of 
trees, with a small aperture on one side, into which 
the "black-fellow"* thrusts his head and shoulders, 
and sleeps as sound as a top, his legs and the lower 
half of his body being exposed to wind and rain. In 
winter, they may be seen encamped round a fire after 
their day's hunting, all naked, and stretched on the 
ground, with their feet towards the fire; the men 
smoking, if they have any thing to smoke, and the 
wretched-looking women composing themselves to 
sleep in the same natural state as their lords and 
masters. f They suffer much, occasionally, from 

* The name given to the aborigines in Australia. 

t It is a singular fact, that the aboriginal natives of New South 
Wales, as well as the cattle that roam at large in its woods, inva- 
riably choose the top of a moderately elevated hill to sleep on during 
the winter months. The reason is, that the hills are always warmer 
than the valleys, and are consequently resorted to in winter ; while 
the latter are chosen in summer as camping-ground by man and 

H beast. 



H6 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



hunger, and may then be induced to do a day's work 
about the farm, for which they will consider themselves 
well paid by a pound of flour and an ounce of to- 
bacco each. This reward must not be given them, 
however, till their work is done : give it beforehand, 
and not a hand's turn will they do, but decamp at 
once to enjoy their dinner. As soon as they have 
eaten their bread, they light the pipes, and never 
cease smoking till their tobacco is finished. Some 
of the men are remarkably well made, and strong, 
able-bodied fellows. One who spent a week now 
and then in my kitchen, doing any thing the cook 
told him, for the promise of a supper, was a tall, 
good-looking fellow, named Jamie. They are one 
and all christened in the bush by any European they 
may ask for a name. A father applied to me one 
day for a name for his little boy, and I forthwith 
called him " Donald ; " at which the old man and the 
rest of the tribe laughed heartily, saying, "All same 
your horse. v> I had then a pony called Donald. To 

beast. I have often been surprised, when riding about the bush in 
winter, at feeling a current of warm air on the top of a range of 
hills, having myself just ascended from the neighbouring valley 
where the breeze was chilling. These warm breezes on the hill tops 
blow from the north-west, and may be nearly related to the summer 
hot winds, cooled on reaching the latitude of 34° in the winter sea- 
son. Be that as it may, they are not strong enough to warm the 
valleys, though their influence on the hills is very agreeable to the 
traveller. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



147 



resume: Jamie was frequently clothed by me, and 
was asked to sleep in the kitchen, or in one of the 
out-offices, but all to no purpose : his clothes, he 
never kept a week, and he invariably took his depar- 
ture at sun-set to sleep in the open air. In our 
district, I believe, the blacks were harmless people ; 
but, on the Upper Hunter, on Liverpool Plains, they 
have been not only very troublesome, but even dan- 
gerous neighbours. Many settlers have suffered 
severely from their depredations ; and several shep- 
herds and stock-keepers have been murdered by 
them. Would they content themselves with killing 
a single bullock or two or three sheep, when suffer- 
ing from hunger, one might excuse them; but I have 
known twenty-five cows killed by a single tribe in 
one night, the fat and kidneys taken away, and the 
carcases left on the ground. This, to say the least of 
it, was a mischievous waste of property; and such 
proceedings naturally led the settlers to retaliate. 
The consequences were serious, and led to extreme 
measures, ending, in more than one instance, in 
bloodshed. There seems to be no room for doubt, 
that many of these poor creatures have been mur- 
dered by stock-keepers on the mere suspicion of 
being concerned in such crimes. This fact, however, 
does not justify the Government in offering a hun- 
dred pounds reward for the discovery of the offender, 
when a black happens to be murdered by a white, 
h 2 



148 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



and only twenty-five pounds reward, when the mur- 
derer is black, and the victim white. 

What would my fair countrywomen say to the 
" black-fellow's 1 ' mode of taking unto himself a wife? 
On making up his mind as to the object of his 
choice, he proceeds by night to the camping-ground 
of the fair one's tribe ; searches her out among the 
sleeping beauties ; deals her a blow on the head with 
his club, (to which an Irishman's shillelah is a twig,) 
and carries off the stunned and senseless wretch to 
his own camp. This ceremony makes them man 
and wife, and no further notice is taken of the 
affair. The different tribes are constantly at war : 
but I have never heard of any very serious conse- 
quences arising from their feuds. The day of battle 
is generally spent in painting themselves red, danc- 
ing the war-dance in presence of their foes, and, 
probably, exchanging a few spears towards its close. 
Their arms consist of spears, clubs, and the boome- 
rang. The latter is a very extraordinary weapon, 
which they throw to a great distance, making it 
return to the thrower when it has described its revo- 
lution, and probably hit some unfortunate wight on 
the head in its course through the air. This weapon 
is of hard wood, about three feet long, two inches 
broad, a quarter of an inch thick, and in the form of 
a crescent : it is thrown against the wind, and de- 
scribes a circle in its course. The spear is of cane, 



IX THE FAR EAST, 



149 



hardened by fire at the end, and is thrown with 
great force and dexterity. No black who can by any 
means obtain a tomahawk, is ever without one, 
generally of English make : with this, they are very 
expert at felling trees, and, with its aid, will climb a 
tree which it would take two pair of arms to encircle. 
The " black-fellow 9 cuts a small notch about three 
feet from the ground ; in this, he inserts the toe of 
one foot, holding on by one hand while he cuts 
another hole three feet further up to receive the 
other foot; and thus he proceeds till he reaches 
the top. The dead trees of Australia, which are all 
hollow, are a favourite resort of the opossum. In 
search of them, the black-fellow will ascend a tree in 
the manner just described; and there he will sit 
while his companions below dig under the roots, 
and light a fire, the smoke from which ascending the 
trunk of the tree, as a chimney, speedily dislodges 
the game. This is dexterously pounced upon by 
" blacky," the moment its head appears peeping 
from the aperture at the top of some of the branches. 
I have never known the tomahawk thrown by them, 
as it is by the Indian of America. 

My family was once thrown into considerable 
alarm by an ill-looking tribe of blacks who formed 
their camp immediately in front of our cottage : 
they were strangers, and had no business there. On 
making inquiries about them, I found that they came 



150 TRADE AND TRAVEL 

from a neighbouring district, and were endeavouring 
to evade the police, who were in search of them for 
the murder of an unfortunate shepherd. Not at all 
liking such neighbours, I took advantage of their 
absence, one day, when they were gone kangaroo- 
hunting, and set fire to their bee-hive huts. On their 
return at sun- set, they took the hint, and we saw no 
more of them. 

Among these tribes, it is a rule, that blood must 
be had for blood ; and this leads them, when one of 
their number falls by the hand of a white man, to 
kill the first European they happen to meet, in re- 
taliation. It would scarcely be reasonable to expect 
these ignorant savages to see the injustice of this 
proceeding ; yet, it is hard, that an unoffending person 
like the shepherd above referred to should be slaugh- 
tered in revenge of the murder of a man he had 
never seen. 

The number of dialects, or apparently different 
languages, spoken by the aborigines of Australia, is 
very remarkable. Those residing in and about 
Sydney cannot converse with those on the Hunter, 
who, in their turn, are ignorant of the dialect spoken 
on Liverpool Plains ; and this is the case throughout 
the Colony. When Sir Edward Parry was manager 
of the Australian Agricultural Company's affairs, he 
made a tour of inspection through its estates, taking 
with him some few black followers as guides. They 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



151 



were not fifty miles from their home, when, to Sir 
Edward's astonishment, he heard them speaking 
English to their countrymen of the districts through 
which they were passing. On inquiring the reason, 
he was told, that the two parties were entirely igno- 
rant of each other's language. 

I never could make out the religious notions of 
these aboriginal tribes, further than that they be- 
lieve in a future state. They do not appear to have 
much affection for their children, if one may judge 
from the way in which they treat them; yet, the 
mother bemoans the loss of one of her little ones 
very piteously, daubs her face and arms with lime 
in token of mourning, and spends many days in the 
neighbourhood of the grave. In common with all 
savage nations, the Australian blacks treat their 
women ill. These poor creatures get the worst of 
all their food, with the hardest of all their work ; 
and are frequently very severely beaten by their 
hard and ruthless taskmasters. Degraded as are 
these aborigines generally, those in the immediate 
vicinity of Sydney are a more abject race than their 
more fortunate brethren who inhabit the distant 
parts of the Colony. This may be partly, if not 
wholly accounted for, by the facility with which 
at Sydney they can obtain ardent spirits, to procure 
which they will do almost any thing. I have never 
seen human beings elsewhere reduced to a state of 



152 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



such utter degradation and misery as these poor 
people exhibit. To shew how much they dislike any 
thing like labour, I may mention, that Government, 
on one occasion, set aside a piece of land for a tribe 
near Sydney, and had it cleared, tilled, and planted 
with maize for their use, exacting from them a pro- 
mise that they would tend the growing corn, keep it 
clean, and gather the crop when ripe: they did 
neither the one nor the other, but, when called on 
to gather the grain that was to be their own, said, it 
was too much trouble. The result was, that the 
corn was plucked for them ; and no further attempt 
was made to induce them to work. 

Several praiseworthy individuals have from time 
to time endeavoured to educate and civilize young 
boys of this unhappy race. One was sent to Eng- 
land, where he was kept at school till he was fifteen 
years of age ; and he then returned to his native 
country. He had not been two days on shore in 
Sydney, when, meeting with some of his country- 
men, he threw off his European clothing, and started 
for the bush, whence there was no getting him back. 

Like most savages, the natives are seldom if ever 
known to express surprise or astonishment under 
any circumstances. Shortly before leaving the 
Colony, I saw a native, early in the morning, stand- 
ing on one of the heights overlooking the harbour 
of Sydney. On my asking what he was about, his 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



153 



reply was : " I belong big river (300 miles distant) ; 
first time come Sydney ; come here see ship ; budge- 
rie su (pleasant sight) ; never see ship or salt water 
before." This poor savage had come three hundred 
miles on foot, assisting a drover with a herd of 
cattle ; he had never before seen either the sea or a 
ship in his life ; and yet there he stood, looking at 
these, to him, most extraordinary objects, with a 
countenance as placid and unmoved as if they had 
been daily sights from his infancy. On questioning 
him, I could extract nothing further from him : he 
would not allow that he was astonished, but simply 
repeated, "budgerie su." While idling away an hour 
one day in the criminal court, I saw an aboriginal 
black tried for murder. Nothing could exceed the 
perfect indifference that he exhibited throughout the 
whole scene. When called upon, through an inter- 
preter, to plead guilty or not guilty, his reply was : 
" I did it because he (the deceased) stole my wife/' 
He would not condescend to deny an act which he 
considered himself justified in committing. This plea 
of justification, the learned Judge directed to be taken 
as one of not guilty ; and the result was, the prisoner's 
acquittal. 

Sir F. L. Mitchell, the Surveyor- General of New 
South Wales, in his admirable journal of his three 
celebrated expeditions into the interior of Australia, 
has described the aboriginal inhabitants of that 
h 3 



154 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



portion of the country named by him, "Australia 
Felix" as a race of men altogether superior to those 
found in other parts of this continent. This race 
may, and probably will be found formidable neigh- 
bours for the first settlers to encounter. Their 
country, from the description given by its discoverer, 
must be a very fine one ; and should it prove to be 
regularly refreshed by rain, it will be an invaluable 
addition to the Colony. 

The fate of the tribes I have been endeavouring 
to describe, is a melancholy one : they are fast dis- 
appearing from the face of the earth; and one or 
two more generations will, in all human probability, 
see the last of them. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



155 



CHAPTER XL 

NEW SOUTH WALES. 

THE HOT WINDS — PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY TO 
PORT ESSINGTON — SHEEP-FARMS — GRAZING IN AUSTRA- 
LIA — HORSE-STOCK. 

I have often heard the question raised in Australia, 
Whence proceed the hot winds ? Hitherto, this in- 
quiry has not, to my knowledge, been satisfactorily 
answered. These winds invariably blow from the 
north-west ; but the question is, Whence do they de- 
rive the heat they are charged with ? In the months 
during which they prevail, the north-west monsoon 
is blowing in the Java sea, and thence all the way to 
Torres 1 Straits; and northerly winds are prevalent 
on the eastern coast of Australia. The weather in 
those seas, at that season, is wet and cold for the 
latitude ; consequently, the north-west wind, when it 
first reaches the northern coast of Australia, is the 
reverse of a hot one : whence, then, the heat it brings 
with it to the thirty-fourth degree of south latitude ? 
From Torres 1 Straits to this latitude, the distance is, 
in southing alone, fifteen hundred miles, twelve 



156 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



hundred of which are entirely unexplored. I have 
heard it suggested, that, in this space, may, and pro- 
bably does exist, a great inland desert, the crossing 
of which heats and dries the wind. Whether such a 
desert does or does not exist, is a problem that may 
not be solved for many years to come ; unless, 
indeed, the expedition now in contemplation, for the 
survey of the country in search of a practicable 
overland route from Sydney to Port Essington, 
should lead to its earlier solution. To this expedi- 
tion, should it ever start, I wish every possible suc- 
cess, though I have my misgivings as to its favour- 
able result, and question the soundness of the judg- 
ment that advises the undertaking at this time. 
Supposing the route should prove practicable simply 
as a mail line, is the Colony at present in circum- 
stances to bear the expense of keeping it up ? The 
object is, to have the overland Indian mail carried 
from Singapore by steam to Port Essington, thence 
to Sydney overland ; the distance being, in round 
numbers, two thousand miles, three-fourths of the 
way through an uninhabited and unknown country. 
To keep up such a line, the outlay would be enormous, 
and would far exceed any return that could be ex- 
pected for the next fifty years. The good folks of 
Sydney seem bent on trying it, however ; and on 
being refused pecuniary aid from the Government, 
they resolved on carrying it through at their own 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



157 



expense ; but they have since cooled in their ardour. 
At least, I have not heard of the money being forth- 
coming.* 

I shall now proceed to offer a few observations 
upon sheep and sheep-stations. A sheep-station is, 
probably, the most desolate place at which a man 
could be sent to pass his time. Fancy three men in 
charge of one thousand sheep, which range over five 
square miles of country, of which five miles those 
three outcasts are literally the only inhabitants, and, 
strange as it may seem, seeing but little of each 
other. One is the watchman, who remains by the 
hut all day, shifts the folds, and sleeps between them 
at night, to protect their occupants from the prowl- 
ing native dog: the other two are shepherds, who 
start every morning at daylight, in different direc- 
tions, each in charge of his flock ; they do not return 
to the hut till sun-down, when they are tired, weary, 
and eager for supper and bed. Thus, day after day, 
and month after month, pass in solitary wretched- 

* The expedition just alluded to has never been attempted ; and 
I think very wisely. The great commercial crisis under which the 
Colony of New South Wales, in common with all the Australian 
Colonies, has been suffering of late, has given the Colonists other and 
more pressing matters to think of ; and if they will take the advice 
of one who wishes them well, they will look to some other route for 
quicker communication with the Mother Country, than that via 
Port Essington. — October, 1845. 



158 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



ness, relieved only on the Saturday for a couple of 
hours, when a man with the week's rations arrives 
at the station. These men live all the year round 
on salt beef and bread, the latter baked by them- 
selves : they have no change either of diet, of em- 
ployment, or of any thing else ; for, be it known, a 
really good sheep-station in Australia yields nothing 
but grass and gum-trees, the soil being dry and poor. 
A shepherd on the hills of Scotland, who returns 
every night to his bothie, and finds a warm supper 
cooked for him by some kind female hand, is a prince 
compared to the exile of Australia, who comes home 
tired and sleepy at sun-down, and may then either 
chop wood to cook his meal, or go supperless to bed, 
as suits his fancy. It is under these circumstances 
that those unhappy connections are formed with 
native women, the offspring from which are invari- 
ably killed by the mother. Against these connections, 
the present Governor has very properly set his face, 
and positively interdicted them. Although he may 
check, he cannot, however, do away with the evil; 
which leads not only to the murder of helpless in- 
fancy, but to bloodshed and wrangling between the 
whites and the blacks. 

Sheep, when I arrived in Australia in 1836, were 
in great request, and ewes with lambs at their feet 
were worth 30s. each, while wool was at 2s. 2d. per 
pound. In 1837-38 and 1838-39, stock of every kind 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



159 



rose in price ; and in the former year, I paid as high 
as 3l. per head for a flock of four hundred ewes with 
lambs five months old at their feet. This purchase 
was not a safe one ; it was made when I knew but 
little of the value of stock, but acted under the advice 
of others, and when the colony was in the very midst 
of that wild career of mad speculation which has since 
worked so much misery to thousands. I suffered 
in common with many others who invested money 
in sheep at the same time, and who left the Colony. 
Nevertheless, I look upon sheep as one of the best 
descriptions of stock in which a man can speculate, 
provided that he keeps within reasonable bounds as 
to price. Good ewes purchased from 20s. to 25.9. per 
head, will, nine times out of ten, pay their proprietor 
from fifteen to twenty per cent, for his outlay. To 
do this, they must of course be properly tended, and 
be kept on what is here called, a good run, i. e. fine 
dry pasture on rather an elevated tract of country. 
The sheep-farmer ought to have a good homestead 
in an agricultural part of the Colony, (this, in my 
opinion, is indispensable to his success,) where he 
may grow grain sufficient not only to render him 
almost independent of bad seasons and high prices, 
but, generally, to give him a few hundred bushels of 
surplus wheat and maize with which to buy tea, sugar, 
and clothing. Hundreds of sheep-farmers have of 
late been ruined by having to purchase the actual 



160 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



necessaries for their stations on credit. Cash they 
had none, being unwilling to part with even their 
surplus stock at the miserably low prices alone ob- 
tainable. 

Another error that sheep-farmers fall into from 
time to time, is, the allowing their establishments to 
outgrow themselves, as it were, by not selling every 
years surplus stock. I have known establishments 
become quite unmanageable from this cause, and 
have heard large proprietors frequently say, they 
were losers by holding so large a number of sheep : 
still, they went on in spite of their own better judg- 
ment, from year to year, without selling a single 
head of stock. This loss attendant upon overgrown 
establishments, arises as much from the difficulty of 
getting good and trustworthy servants, as from any 
other cause. The master's eye cannot be every- 
where, and the overseers is seldom to be trusted. 
Lazy shepherds keep sheep in till ten a.m. in place 
of turning them out at six. Idle watchmen shift the 
folds twice a week, instead of every day. Fifty other 
cases of this kind take place on a large sheep-farm, 
that never could occur on a small establishment. In 
damp weather, the watchman's neglecting to shift 
the folds, is sure to do harm. One of its first evil 
effects is to give the sheep toe-rot ; a troublesome 
complaint that lames the animal, and is not easily got 
rid of. Then, a careless shepherd will allow his flock to 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



161 



stray on your neighbours run, which may have been 
fed over by scabby sheep the day before. If no rain 
has fallen during the night, the disease is sure, in 
that case, to be caught by the trespassers, as I can 
testify from dear-bought experience. Scab, here, is 
a very different disease from what the sheep-farmer 
at home is acquainted with, and is much more diffi- 
cult to cure. The remedies applied for it are severe, 
and of a kill-or-cure description : indeed, it requires 
a strong sheep to bear this application. Rubbing 
with tar, as practised in Scotland, has been found 
utterly useless. 

, In advising sheep-farmers to have a good agri- 
cultural homestead, I am aware I am recommending 
what hundreds have not the power to obtain. As 
a general rule, however, it is a golden one ; and I 
would adhere to it, even were I compelled to have 
three hundred miles between my stations and the 
homestead. Indeed, I have known those two esta- 
blishments separated by two hundred miles. 

Since 1838-9, sheep have been sold in New South 
Wales as low as ninepence a head : this, however, 
was under very extraordinary circumstances, and is 
not likely to happen again ; more especially since 
the proprietor has found out that, by slaughtering 
the animal, and boiling down the carcase, he can get 
3s. 6d. for the tallow it yields. During the recent 
distresses, thousands of sheep have been disposed of 



162 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



in this way, the proprietors being so much reduced 
as to be literally unable either to pay or to feed men 
to look after their flocks. I know many parties who 
purchased sheep between the years 1837 and 1840, 
at the rates then current, at three years' credit, 
paying ten per cent, per annum for the indulgence, 
who, after keeping their purchases and their increase 
for three years, were compelled, when their accept- 
ances became due, to sell off original stock, increase, 
and all, and then had not half enough to satisfy 
their creditor. This, as I said before, arose from 
peculiar circumstances, being caused by the prevail- 
ing panic. I shall advert again to this subject, in 
offering a few remarks upon the recent distresses 
and their causes. 

Now as to cattle. The English or Scotch grazier, 
who has his cattle brought home and housed every 
night, can have no idea of the sort of work his brother 
grazier in Australia has to go through. Here, the 
climate is so mild, that cattle are never housed, but 
wander in the bush from year's end to year's end. 
The proprietor of five hundred head of horned cattle, 
must command the run of five thousand acres of 
pasture-land, of fair quality, as the grass in the 
woods of Australia is so thin, that it takes three 
acres to feed a sheep, and ten for a bullock. He 
generally employs two men, called stock-keepers, to 
look after them : these are mounted, and ought to 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



163 



employ their time in riding over and roundabout their 
masters run, to see that his cattle do not stray, and 
that his grass is not trespassed on by others. This, 
however, is more than most of these gentry conde- 
scend to do, many of them preferring the company of 
cattle-stealers and other vagabonds, with whom they 
are frequently leagued ; and if I may judge from the 
money I have seen in possession of stock- keepers, 
they share largely in the cattle-stealers' plunder. 
With the exception of some twenty cows and calves 
usually kept about the house, to give milk, which are 
called the milking herd, the grazier sees nothing of 
his herds but on muster-days, which occur twice a 
year. For some time previously to muster-day, the 
stock-keepers have been very busy drawing their 
herds by degrees as near the stock-yard as possible ; 
and when the day arrives, the whole are driven into 
the yard to be inspected. All the yearlings are then 
branded, and fat bullocks are picked out for sale or 
slaughter. At this time, the stock-keeper and his 
horse have no sinecure ; for the cattle they have to 
collect, are as wild, and nearly as swift as deer ; so 
much so, that a cattle-hunt in Australia is nearly as 
much enjoyed by the young men as a fox-hunt in 
Old England. Some breeds of cattle are much more 
easily managed than others, being naturally quieter ; 
but, generally speaking, the wild way in which the 



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Australian herds are reared, makes them intractable 
and troublesome. 

In spite of all this thieving and trouble, however, 
cattle-stock is a good investment for money in 
ordinary times. In extraordinary times like the 
last year or two, no investment is safe, except to the 
man who can hold on till things mend. In 1S38, 
cattle were worth from 3/. 10 s. to 5/. per head, for a 
herd consisting of cows, steers, and heifers from one 
to three years old, and calves under six months. 
Very superior herds were worth more ; but I speak 
generally. Since that time, thousands of cattle have 
been killed and boiled down for their tallow. But 
times are mending, and this stock, like every other, 
is not likely to be again so unsaleable. 

It is of the greatest possible importance to a gra- 
zier, to have his herds near some place where there 
is communication by water with Sydney. In this 
respect, Hunter's river and Port Macquarie have 
the pre-eminence over the rest of the Colony. The 
possessor of fat cattle, in either of those districts, can 
at all times send them to market by steam, without 
their losing much flesh; whereas I knew in 1839, 
when fodder was so scarce, a man having three 
hundred head of beasts fit for the knife, running in 
Wellington valley, which, could he have got them 
into Sydney, would have brought 8/. per head ready 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



165 



cash, but which were utterly valueless to him, from 
the impossibility of driving them through a country 
almost bare of pasture. Had this man been on the 
banks of either of my favourite rivers, he could 
have turned his cattle into cash in three days. 

The wild way in which cattle are reared in Aus- 
tralia, makes the young steer a troublesome animal 
to break in for the plough; and then, the absurd 
system of turning all the working bullocks into the 
bush to feed after their day's work, adds very much 
to the farmers cares. These bullocks are very 
cunning, and at daylight, when they well know the 
ploughman will be after them, invariably conceal 
themselves in some snug corner. I have had men 
out for hours, looking for a team of bullocks in this 
way, and have frequently been vexed to see them 
return as late as noon with only half the number. 

Were I again to turn Australian farmer, I would 
stable my working cattle, keep a man to take care of 
them, grow ten acres of Lucerne hay to feed them, save 
their manure, (an article almost universally thrown 
away in Australia,) get double work out of them, 
and have the satisfaction of seeing my ploughs going 
at regular hours, in place of being worried '* from 
July to eternity," as Sam Slick says, by having to 
search for the cattle in the bush. It often struck 
me, that the Australian grazier loses a chance of 
making a good deal of money by neglecting his 



166 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



dairy produce. Had he a regular establishment in 
the bush where his herds run, to milk the cows and 
make butter and cheese, it would not only, in my 
opinion, pay well for the trouble, but would make his 
cattle much less wild. His having forty or fifty cows 
brought home every evening to milk, would not 
only make their calves quiet and tractable, but would 
also compel the stock-keeper to be more active, would 
keep him at his duty, and, I feel satisfied, would save 
the proprietor a great deal in the course of the year. 
The butter and cheese here are both of excellent 
quality, and might be made in large quantities ; yet, 
both are regularly imported into Sydney from the 
Derwent (Van Diemen's Land) and Port Phillip ; a 
state of things the settlers of New South Wales ought 
to be ashamed of. 

Many a fine cattle-run is rendered useless in dry 
seasons, by want of water. Nature has provided, all 
over the country, reservoirs (or tanks) for water, 
which are filled by every heavy rain ; and their 
contents last a long time : still, in a very dry season, 
these fail ; and many a thirsty bullock loses his life 
by tumbling, from excessive weakness, into one of 
those pits. Some parts of the country have no 
tanks, (or water-holes, as they are called,) except a 
few muddy puddles at the foot of the hills, and thus 
become unavailing sooner than other parts. This 
inconvenience might in a great measure be remedied, 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



167 



at trifling cost, by constructing dams at properly- 
chosen places in the ravines or gulleys that intersect 
the hills from top to bottom, every two or three 
hundred yards. In one instance, I have seen this 
plan adopted with success. The owners of property 
between Sydney and Paramatta are compelled to 
make tanks, the water in the river being salt, and 
that procured by digging wells being very little 
better. Water, Water, is the cry, in dry seasons, all 
over this otherwise highly favoured country ; and 
till the end of time, this want will prevent New 
South Wales from- becoming a densely populated 
country. 

The horse-fancier may invest a few hundreds very 
profitably in the purchase of some really good brood 
mares. From these, he will not only draw a good 
return for his money, but will also derive a great 
deal of pleasant pastime in superintending the break- 
ing-in of his colts and fillies. Horse- stock, like 
every other, has fallen much in price lately, but will 
doubtless recover itself when times improve. I am 
acquainted with more than one proprietor who has 
made no inconsiderable sum of money by rearing 
horses. There is a constant demand for them ; and 
of late, a good market has been found in India for 
those suited for cavalry. 

Another profitable investment for money is to be 
found, in Sydney, in the way of mortgage. Ten and 



168 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



twelve per cent, is paid regularly, and security given 
of an undoubted character, — security that has not in 
one instance failed the mortgagee, even in the recent 
desperate times. Large sums may be invested in 
this way ; and for the absent capitalist, it is the mode 
of investment I would recommend in preference to 
any other. Bank Shares used to be in great favour 
with monied men when I was in Australia. The 
holders have, however, had a severe lesson since then, 
having suffered seriously by some failures among 
those establishments. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



169 



CHAPTER XIL 

NEW SOUTH WALES. 

CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES CONDUCT OF THE 

BANKS MANIA FOR SPECULATION LONG-ACCOUNT 

SYSTEM — BAD SEASONS. 

I will now proceed to offer a few remarks on the 
causes of the late terrible distresses in New South 
Wales, and on what I consider as the best means of 
preventing the recurrence of such lamentable scenes. 

The three main causes of those distresses were, 
undoubtedly : — 

First, Harsh and illiberal conduct on the part of 
the Banks. 

Secondly, A wild speculation-mania that took pos- 
session of the entire population. 

Thirdly, The system that had obtained, of giving 
long credit to purchasers of stock, &c. 

While I look upon these three as the primary and 
principal causes of by far the greater part of the 
suffering the Colony has recently undergone, I must 
specify another, though certainly a secondary cause ; 
namely, two successive bad seasons. This last cause 

i 



170 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



is, I am aware, by many persons, regarded as the 
chief source of all their distresses and losses ; but I 
think I can shew that those parties are wrong in this 
opinion, which springs from their anxiety to frame 
an excuse for their very imprudent speculations. 

In the first place, then, I accuse the Banks of harsh 
and illiberal conduct; and I will state my reasons 
for this charge. 

When I arrived in Sydney in 1836, the Banks, 
without exception, but more particularly the Com- 
mercial Bank (then under the management of a 
would-be shrewd Aberdonian), were doing every 
thing in their power to induce parties to open 
accounts with them. Bills for discount were eagerly 
sought after, and little attention was paid to the 
respectability of the names of either drawer or 
endorser. Cash-advances were publicly advertised 
by the Commercial Bank. Parties, to my certain 
knowledge, were stopped in the street by the Aber- 
donian just alluded to, who solicited their business 
with a very bland smile. In short, no stone was 
left unturned by these money-seekers to add to their 
half-yearly dividends. This system went on till the 
latter end of 1839. I need scarcely say, that this 
unbecoming and greedy canvassing for business, 
tempted many an unwary merchant and settler to 
venture beyond his depth, and ultimately led to ruin 
and a prison. The amount of money represented by 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



171 



absolutely valueless paper at this time, is quite 
beyond calculation. Renewals were a matter of 
course. Cash payments, even in part, were the reverse 
of common. Bank-directors overdrew their accounts 
with perfect impunity to a large amount ; and the 
whole Colony seemed intoxicated with the fond 
notion that the Banks would never fail them, and 
that, in those fountains, they would at all times find 
a never-ending supply of "the needful." In the 
midst of this mad career, the day of reckoning came 
suddenly upon them. The Banks took the alarm : 
they began to think they had allowed the kite-flying 
system to go too far ; and they commenced a system 
of unparalleled harshness and oppression towards 
their gulls. Cash advances were not merely stopped, 
but those previously made were called in. Renewals 
would no longer be accepted, even for half or a 
quarter of the amount due ; and the unfortunate 
" kite-flier" was, in hundreds of cases, ruined by the 
very men who had in the most unprincipled manner 
led him into the mire, and then left him. 

The Banks now took up a position the very oppo- 
site of that hitherto occupied by them ; and, instead 
of trusting everybody, put no faith in any one. This 
conduct ultimately recoiled upon themselves ; their 
shares fell in value ; some of them became bankrupt, 
while the others had a hard struggle to avoid that 
catastrophe; and the public lost all confidence in 
i 2 



172 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



banks and bankers. The worst part of the tale 
remains to be told ; namely, that many widows and 
orphans, whose all was invested in bank shares, were 
utterly ruined and reduced to destitution by the 
failures alluded to. 

I come now to the second main cause of Australian 
distress, viz. the speculation-mania that took pos- 
session of the entire ^population of this fine Colony. 
No one who did not witness the effects of this mania, 
can imagine to what an extent it was carried. 
Scarcely a day passed without one or more public 
auctions of stock of all descriptions ; and not a sale 
took place, that was not crowded with eager pur- 
chasers. Many large stock-holders took advantage 
of the high prices obtained at those sales, to sell off, 
in the delusive hope that they would in this way be 
enabled to retire from active life, and perhaps to 
return to their native country. The terms offered 
at those public sales, were such as to induce many 
persons who never even dreamed of sheep or cattle 
farming, to enter the market and purchase to a large 
extent. These terms were, in general, something 
like the following : — 

Ten per cent, on the fall of the hammer ; 

Thirty per cent, by bill at twelve months ; 

Thirty per cent, by bill at two years ; 

Thirty per cent, by bill at three years : these bills 
bearing interest at ten per cent, per annum. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



173 



I have seen tens of thousands of sheep and cattle 
sold in this way, many of the buyers being men who 
had never even seen one of the animals they were 
bidding for, and who knew literally nothing about 
the management of flocks and herds ; being tempted 
to make the purchase by the long credit given. But, 
strange to say, many old settlers were led, with their 
eyes open, into extensive purchases at most exorbitant 
rates, thinking: that nothing could check the career 
of splendid prosperity upon which the Colony was 
then supposed to have entered. How dear]y those 
parties have paid for their folly, the world generally, 
and their creditors in particular, well know. Besides 
the numerous public sales of stock all over the Colony, 
and the large amount of property that changed 
hands on those occasions, many important private 
sales took place about the same time. There was 
not a sheep, cow, or horse in the Colony, too old or 
too bad to find a purchaser ! Any thing would sell, 
provided only that time was given to find the money. 
Nothing could exceed the madness of the people, 
buying, selling, and exchanging accommodation-paper 
from end to end of the land. Then came the land- 
jobbers, a set of sharks who did great harm. It was 
a common practice with those jobbers, or rather 
robbers, to apply to the Surveyor-General's depart- 
ment, to have lots of land put up for sale, which they 
were aware that certain landed proprietors could 



174 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



never allow to fall into the hands of strangers, and 
then to go to the party whose estate the sale of the 
land in question would injure, and demand a bribe to 
stop their bidding against him. If this quietus was 
refused, these scamps would attend the sale, and bid 
the land up to some exorbitant price, knowing that 
their victim must be the buyer. Land once adver- 
tised by Government must be put up to auction ; and 
the jobber's victim was obliged either to purchase, or 
to run the risk of having a stranger sit down as the 
proprietor of a few hundred acres in the midst of his 
thousands. Another class of scamps used to attend 
land-sales, who would conspire to keep down the 
prices of lots they wanted, by not bidding against 
each other, and by playing various other tricks, to 
the detriment of the revenue. The Attorney- General 
got hold of half a dozen of those gentry in 1839, and 
prosecuted them for conspiracy. He obtained a ver- 
dict of guilty against them, but assented to their 
petition for a new trial. Again they were convicted, 
and they were fined a hundred pounds each; the 
Court telling them, that the penalty would have been 
much heavier, had not the judge taken into considera- 
tion their humble petition for mercy, and the heavy 
expenses they had incurred in standing two trials. 

This system of selling by auction and by private 
sale, large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep at high 
prices, went on till some of the twelve-month's paper 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



175 



became due. Cash not being then forthcoming, 
renewals were asked for in many instances, which 
somewhat damped the ardour of speculation ; but the 
wild career did not receive any very serious check, 
till the two-years' paper began to come into play. 
Very little cash could be got from the drawers, who 
were, in many cases, obliged to bring a large portion 
of their stock to the hammer, in order to meet their 
acceptances for thirty per cent, of the purchase money. 
This alarmed people. The price of stock began to 
fall ; and, long before the three-years' paper became 
due, ewes that had cost the buyers 3l. per head, could 
be got for 7s. 6c?. 

Thus, many a poor fellow, after labouring hard for 
three years to keep his flocks and their increase 
together, had to part with the whole, and still had 
not enough wherewith to satisfy his original creditors. 
Hundreds of instances of this kind might be specified, 
did I feel at liberty to publish names. 

As to the operation of the third main cause of the 
distress, the system that obtained, of giving long credit 
to purchasers of stock, the evils arising from this 
practice have been partly exposed in the foregoing 
remarks; but I will proceed to point out a few 
other evil consequences, as they occur to me. To 
begin with one that more than once came under 
my own notice ; many persons of property, trusting 
to the long prices obtainable for stock of every 



176 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



description when sold on credit, and forgetting that 
there was absolutely no cash price at the time, 
deemed themselves much richer men than they were 
in reality. Giving to their overseers the charge of 
their country residences, they took and furnished 
houses in Sydney for their families, set up their 
carriages, and commenced a style of living far beyond 
their means. This fact (the want of cash) came 
upon them the moment the first half-years bills for 
rent, household supplies, &c, became due: these 
proved to the deluded settler, that, though he had 
flocks and herds, he had no money, nor could any be 
got, except at a sacrifice. To a man, they had to sell 
off and return to their estates, where dire necessity 
has since compelled them to remain, and where, I 
hope, renewed prosperity and common sense will 
induce them to stay. 

Another evil caused by the long-credit system, 
was its inducing many persons to purchase stock for 
the purpose of raising money upon it. This practice 
was carried to a ruinous extent, and caused immense 
distress in this way. A hundred head of cattle 
might be parted with to day, by a needy settler, say, 
at 3l. per head, six months' credit ; the seller took the 
buyer's note of hand for the purchase money, 300/., 
which was immediately taken to the bank, and dis- 
counted ; and the settler returned to his farm, satisfied 
that he had made a good sale of his beasts. The 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



177 



buyer, having no use for the cattle, re-sold them, 
taking the second buyer's note for the money, which, 
like that of the first, went at once to the bank. This 
transaction was frequently repeated six or eight times, 
before the cattle found a bond fide purchaser ; and it 
was no uncommon thing, to find paper in the market 
to the amount of 1800/. or 2000/., the only repre- 
sentative for which was the hundred head of cattle 
originally sold by the settler ; the whole of the parties 
concerned being, with the exception of the first 
seller and the last buyer, mere men of straw. When 
the six months expired, not a single bill of the six or 
eight negotiated, was taken up, excepting, perhaps, 
the last one : all the others had to be renewed ; and 
it was the forcing the payment of such bills, that 
ruined so many people, and ultimately shook the 
credit of every bank in Australia. 

The credit system also led many mercantile men 
into speculations which they never would have 
entered into under a wholesome system of trade. 
From these many serious losses resulted, which have 
led to ruinous failures. Any man with a hundred 
pounds in his pocket, could get credit for a thousand ; 
and numbers of adventurers of all descriptions, taking 
advantage of the times, opened stylish shops well- 
filled with goods bought on credit, carried on a 
flourishing trade till within a few days of their bills 
falling due, and then decamped, leaving their unfor- 
i 3 



178 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



tunate and silly creditors to get paid from the wreck 
of the stock left in the shop. I knew an auctioneer who 
played this nefarious trick, leaving his creditors minus 
the enormous sum of 70,000/. He did not, however, 
long retain his ill-gotten wealth : how he got rid of it, 
I do not know ; but I found him two years ago in Singa- 
pore, where he kept a small grog-shop, and lived in 
great wretchedness ; and I have since met with him 
knocking about the streets of Macao, a disgrace to his 
country in a foreign settlement. The credit system 
ruined two thirds of the respectable auctioneers in 
Sydney, and upset the Australian Auction Company, 
absorbing every shilling of its paid-up capital. 

In addition to the evils inflicted on this Colony by 
these main causes, great losses were sustained by 
settlers through their becoming shippers of their 
own wool. At the time I speak of, wool was worth, 
in Sydney, from 2s. Id. to 2s. 2c?. per pound, and, in 
England, some 6d. or 8d. more. These high rates 
would not satisfy some settlers, who foolishly took 
an advance upon their clips, letting them go home 
on their own account, and at the risk of the agents 
of the parties who advanced the money in Sydney. 
In the meantime, wool fell in the English markets to 
Is. and 15c?. per pound. The nett proceeds of the 
shipment did not nearly cover the advance made; 
and the hapless shipper, already in debt to his agent 
for supplies, and without a penny of cash at his 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



179 



command, was called upon to make good the diffe- 
rence, which he was unable to do. His agent, pressed 
by others, must press him ; his flocks are brought to 
the hammer, and sold at the now ruinous current 
prices ; and he becomes a bankrupt. Dozens of cases 
like this, occurred during the late wretched times. 

I come now to the consideration of the bad seasons 
of 1838-39 and 1839-40. While I maintain that they 
were far from being the sole, or even the chief cause 
of distress, I allow that they added to it very mate- 
rially. To shew that they were not the sole cause, 
I may mention, that, among my own personal friends 
in the Colony, not one who avoided speculation and 
putting his name on paper, has failed ; while those 
who followed the stream have sunk, every one of 
them. During those years, every thing the unfortu- 
nate grazier had to sell, was cheap beyond all prece- 
dent; while every article he was compelled to pur- 
chase, was very dear. Tea, owing to the China war, 
rose from bl to 15Z. per half-pecul chest of hyson 
skin. Flour of the very coarsest description could 
not be had under from 30/. to 35?. per ton of two 
thousand pounds weight, — a colonial cheat, calling 
two thousand pounds a ton ! Sugar and other neces- 
saries were equally high; and many a poor settler 
who had never refused his hard-worked servants 
their tea, sugar, and tobacco, was compelled to stop 
those indulgences. 



180 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



To the working-classes in Sydney and other towns, 
the bad seasons were ruinous. Provisions were so 
dear, that many a father of a family found his earn- 
ings far from sufficient to provide food for his wife 
and children. Building was almost entirely put a 
stop to ; and thus, hundreds of industrious men were 
thrown out of employment. To so serious an extent 
did this distress reach, that Government was called 
upon to afford pecuniary relief to the starving poor ; 
a circumstance altogether unprecedented in Austra- 
lian history. 

So low had these evils sunk the Colony and all 
its inhabitants, that failures of merchants and settlers 
continued to be of almost daily occurrence up to the 
end of the year 1843. No one durst push his neigh- 
bour for payment of debt : were such a thing at- 
tempted, an immediate surrender of his affairs to 
the official trustee of the Insolvent Court, was the 
consequence. Several of the first and oldest mer- 
chants in the Colony have sunk under the long- 
continued pressure; and, at the date of the last 
accounts, more failures were looked for. These, 
however, were expected as the result of old causes, 
not of new or recent transactions. 

Upon the whole, I am disposed to think, that Aus- 
tralia has seen its darkest day, and that things are 
likely soon to improve, if, indeed, they have not 
already mended. The price of stock was looking 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



181 



up ; and ewes that had actually been sold as low as 
9c?. each, were worth Is. 6d. Men of capital lately- 
arrived from England with ready money, had com- 
menced purchasing land and stock ; and their opera- 
tions had given an impetus to affairs in general, that 
could not fail to be beneficial. 



182 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



CHAPTER XIII. 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 

ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING — HINTS TO THE 
COLONISTS — FUTURE PROSPECTS. 

Notwithstanding the terrible shock from which 
Australia has been suffering ever since 1839, 1 still 
retain a high opinion of the Colony as an advan- 
tageous field for the employment of the spare capital 
of the mother country. The elements of prosperity 
still exist, and require only a little nursing in order 
to effect its recovery from the recent depression. 
The emigrant with a capital of three or four thou- 
sand pounds, must not, indeed, expect to make a 
fortune in a few years ; but he may with perfect 
confidence look to make himself an independent man, 
at a much more rapid rate than he could by means 
of double that sum in England. If he is prudent, 
nurses his capital, sticks to his business as a settler, 
avoids tempting bargains of things he has no use for, 
and, above all, refrains from obliging his neighbours 
with the occasional loan of his name to a bill, I see 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



183 



not what can by possibility prevent his succeeding 
in such a country, even allowing that every third 
season should prove one of drought. To the indus- 
trious farmer with a small capital of 500Z. or 1000/., 
New South Wales offers a fine field : he can obtain a 
hundred acres of the finest arable land in the world 
on a clearing-lease, with two years free for the 
clearing, and three or five years more on a moderate 
rent. A capital even of 500/. will enable him to 
fence his land, build himself a bush-house and out- 
offices, and maintain his family for two years ; by 
which time it will be hard indeed, if he has not land 
enough under crop to return him something hand- 
some. I have known many settlers of this kind 
thrive, and many others " go to the wall the former 
had a small capital to start with, while the latter 
commenced upon credit for the very bread required 
for their families ; a plan I never knew to succeed. 

Let but the settler stick to his business ; the mer- 
chant be content with smaller profits than used to 
satisfy him, and cease giving long credit to all and 
everybody ; let the banker be less grasping, and not 
quite so hard a creditor when he finds one of his 
customers in difficulties or reverses ; let every one 
avoid speculations out of his strict line of business, 
and beware of accommodation-paper; and let the 
lower and middle classes avoid the public-house ; 
and there is nothing to fear for Australia. It has 



184 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



had a severe lesson administered to it, that ought to 
be a warning to all its inhabitants for the future. 
I have no hesitation in saying, that nine-tenths of the 
evils from which the Colonists have suffered of late, 
have arisen from their own imprudence, and that 
these may be avoided in future by common caution, 
in spite of dry seasons and occasional failures of 
crops. 

Now that colonization is extending up the coast 
from Sydney northwards, and the inhabited parts of 
the Colony already approach the tropic of Capricorn, 
New South Wales ought, in a few years, to be a rice 
and sugar-growing country. The soil on the banks 
of the rivers in the neighbourhood of More ton Bay, 
is, from all accounts, equal to any thing hitherto 
known in the Colony ; and the climate is very highly 
spoken of. Should the winter there prove too long 
or too severe for sugar-growing, (I do not see why 
it should be so,) parties anxious to try the culture of 
the cane as a means of making money, must in that 
case just move a little further north. There is an 
extensive field to explore, before they reach Torres' 
Straits. 

That New South Wales will become an extensive 
wine-growing country, I conceive there is no room 
to doubt. Its vineyards are magnificent, in every 
sense of the word. I have visited several of them, 
and was struck with the abundance and varietv of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



185 



their produce. Two proprietors of my acquaintance 
have been for years in the practice of making wine 
of different sorts, but principally of the lighter kinds 
resembling the Rhenish. 1 can vouch for their 
being very palatable, particularly during the summer 
months. One of the gentlemen alluded to has also 
made very good port wine and brandy. 

The greatest drawback on the commerce of New 
South Wales, is the deficiency of exports, the balance 
of trade being greatly against the Colony. Its woo! 
and oil are what merchants have hitherto princi- 
pally depended upon, though other exports are now 
coming into play ; viz. cedar-timber, hides, tallow, 
and salt provisions. Still, I do not think that, even 
with these additions, the merchants of the Colony 
can manage to make their exports equal in value to 
their imports ; and were it not for the very consi- 
derable sums drawn for on the Home Government, 
by the military department, for the pay and provi- 
sions of the troops, necessity would compel the 
merchants of England to reduce their shipments to 
Australia. The great fall in the price of the princi- 
pal colonial staple, wool, has added very materially 
to the difficulties arising out of this state of affairs, 
by reducing the value of remittances made in that 
article to one half of what it used to be. The quantity 
of wool increases, it is true, from year to year, but 
not to such an extent as to counterbalance the fall in 



186 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



price ; and it must be borne in mind, that, as fast as 
the wool increases, so does the population, and con- 
sequently the amount of imports in the shape of sup- 
plies, which have all to be remitted for. Since the 
opening of the coast of China to the commerce of 
the world, (the result of our late struggle with that 
country, — a struggle so much condemned by those 
who were ignorant of the merits of the case,) the 
merchants of Sydney seem to have entertained the 
idea, that their trade will benefit by the change. No 
one would rejoice more than myself at their antici- 
pations proving correct; but I confess my judgment 
differs from theirs; and if we may judge by the 
result of their trial shipments, which arrived prior to 
my leaving China, it is to be feared they will find, to 
their cost, that they have reckoned without their 
host. The Sydney merchants, from what I have 
heard, expect to find in China a market for horses, 
cattle, and sheep, coarse woollens, wine, and salt 
provisions. The first three have been tried, and^ the 
experiment has proved an utter failure: the horses 
were sent to Calcutta, not a purchaser being found 
for one of them in Hong Kong. Cattle are out of 
the question : they cannot be transported five thou- 
sand miles to undersell the Chinese butcher, who 
gives fifteen pounds of good beef for a dollar — about 
3|d. per pound. This price, the Sydney speculator 
cannot compete with, particularly as his beasts would 



IN THE FAR EAST* 



187 



certainly land in poor condition after so long a voyage, 
and either put him to the expense of fattening them, 
or compel him to sell at the low price of lean cattle. 
Sheep have also been tried by several ship-masters, 
and did not answer: the last lot that came, were 
slaughtered and sold in the market, the only way in 
which they could be got rid of, and which would not 
answer the purpose of a large importer. For coarse 
woollens, a market may certainly be found in China ; 
but whether a profitable one, or not, to the Australian 
manufacturer, is, in my opinion, somewhat doubtful. 
Labour is so much cheaper in Britain than it is in 
Australia, that, I fear, the Sydney manufacturer 
would have but a poor chance, when his goods came 
into competition with those of Manchester, either in 
the Chinese or in any other market. Whatever 
kinds of goods may be required on the coast of China, 
will soon be supplied from Manchester and Glasgow 
at the lowest possible figure, the object of the manu- 
facturers of those places being, I presume, a large 
trade with moderate profits ; so moderate, indeed, as 
to leave the Sydney manufacturer no chance of 
competing with the means at the command of the 
British manufacturer. Australian wool, like Indian 
cotton, may be taken to England, be manufactured 
there, and sent out and sold in China, or anywhere 
else, for less money than it would cost the Sydney 
capitalist to produce the manufactured article. As 



188 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



to wine, it will be a long time before New South 
Wales has much to export ; and the limited Euro- 
pean population of China will not consume a suffi- 
cient quantity to be of importance to the Australian 
vine-grower. The Chinese cannot be counted upon 
as purchasers : they are not wine-drinkers, generally 
speaking ; and the little they do consume, is manu- 
factured to suit their own palates, in China. 

For salt provisions, there is a considerable demand 
in China, among the European shipping that visit 
its ports : they must, however, be cheaper in Sydney 
than they were in my time, to answer the purpose of 
even a remittance. The Americans bring to China 
excellent beef and pork, which they sell at ten and 
twelve dollars (about 42s. to 54s.) per barrel of two 
hundred pounds weight. If these prices will remu- 
nerate the Sydney shipper, he may try his luck as 
soon as he likes ; but he must not send an inferior 
article : if he does, he will sink his capital. Cedar- 
timber has been tried recently, and has answered 
very well to a small extent : this, however, will last 
only till the town of Victoria on the island of Hong- 
Kong is completely built. 

By every fresh outlet for surplus stock that can be 
pointed out to the Australian grazier, we shall be 
rendering him a substantial service. Sir Robert 
Peel's new tariff will enable him to dispose of many 
a spare fat bullock. Of this opening he has already 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



189 



taken advantage, by sending trial shipments of salt 
beef to England. 

It appears to me, that the imports and exports of 
Australia ought to be much nearer a balance than 
they are. To bring about this desirable state of 
things, it will be requisite to reduce the amount of 
the imports, which may be effected by giving up 
the importation of hams, bacon, cheese, butter, to- 
bacco, and, in a great measure, grain. To see a 
pastoral country like New South Wales importing 
butter and cheese, is an anomaly, and only proves 
the waste and carelessness of the owners of herds 
numerous enough to supply all Europe with dairy pro- 
duce. The importation of hams and bacon is another 
absurdity and evidence of wasteful husbandry. I 
have seen fruit, barn- sweepings, butter-milk, bran, 
&c. &c. wasted about a farm in Australia, in quanti- 
ties sufficient to feed and fatten a hundred pigs, 
which would have kept the establishment in meat 
for half the year. Indeed, it is a common saying in 
the Colony, that the waste on one of its farms, would 
make an English farmers fortune. These may seem 
minor articles, but vast sums of money are annually 
paid for them to London dealers. Besides these, are 
imported, pickles, preserved fruits, sweetmeats, shoes, 
clothing, and a thousand other articles, every one of 
which might be as well and as economically made 
in the Colony, thereby saving thousands per annum. 



190 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



A coat or other article of dress can be made in 
Sydney as well and as cheap as in London; and 
though the cloth must be obtained from England, 
there is no reason that the London tailor should 
benefit by the making, when the Sydney one is in 
want of work, and is willing to work as cheap as 
his London brother. Employing colonial workmen 
would keep vast sums of money in the country, that 
now go out of it. 

Tobacco and snuff ought never to be imported, 
the Colony being quite equal to producing more than 
sufficient for its own consumption. The quality of 
colonial tobacco used to be complained of; but that 
objection no longer exists. Moreover, people who 
cannot complete their remittances for necessaries, 
have no right to be nice in their choice of luxuries. 
I am confident that I am within the mark, when I 
say, that 50,000/. sterling per annum are paid to 
Americans and others who import snuff and tobacco ! 
This is a sum assuredly worth saving, and which the 
Colonists could easily save, by encouraging the growth 
and consumption of their own produce. 

After what I have written upon the subject of 
Australian agriculture, I may be thought to be 
making a bold assertion in saying, that the necessity 
for the importation of grain might, in a great mea- 
sure, be done away with in Australia. Nevertheless, 
such is my opinion ; and I will proceed to give my 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



191 



reasons. In the first place, there is a great -waste of 
wheat, as well as of every thing else, on every farm 
in the Colony. There is no gleaning ; and what 
with the bad and careless threshing and the ill- 
thatched and worse-built stacks, winch admit the 
rain, whereby thousands of bushels of wheat are 
destroyed, the waste is beyond any one's conception 
who has not actually witnessed it. In the second 
place, there is not nearly so much wheat grown in 
Australia as there might and ought to be. A simple 
process of irrigation, such as the Chinese or the 
Javanese, the machinery for which would not cost 
5/., and would employ only two men when in opera- 
tion, applied to the wheat-fields in dry seasons once 
a month, would save many a crop. All, or nearly 
all the wheat in the Colony, is grown on the banks 
of rivers, which, though they cease to flow in a sea- 
son of drought, have always water in the deep parts 
of the channel or " water-holes/ 1 It requires no ar- 
gument to prove, that irrigation, in such situations, 
is a very simple matter. Two Javanese, by means of 
a long lever attached to a tall tree on the bank of a 
river, with a large bucket and string at one end, and 
a string to hoist up by at the other end, will keep a 
small stream of water running over and fertilizing 
the neighbouring paddy-fields all day long, without 
fatiguing themselves. The Chinese water-wheel is 
also a simple and cheap contrivance, and would throw 



192 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



up water enough, in two hours, to irrigate, or even to 
inundate a tobacco or wheat-field. All that is wanted, 
besides the labour of two men, is a series of wooden 
troughs to convey the water from the river bank to 
the highest part of the field, whence it is easily 
guided over the other parts. A little attention to 
irrigation might, in my humble opinion, very soon 
make New South Wales independent of imported 
wheat. 

Another means of doing away with the importa- 
tion of grain and flour, may be found in paying more 
attention to the cultivation of maize. Large quan- 
tities of it are grown at present, but they might 
easily be doubled.* And here, irrigation would an- 
swer splendidly, the drills forming such convenient 
water-courses. Large as is the quantity of maize 
grown in Australia, it is not used as food for man ; — 
why, I know not, but such is the fact ; — and I have 
known a convict turn up his nose when offered corn- 
el do not mean to say, that irrigating an acre of wheat or maize 
would double the yield of grain, but that double the number of 
acres now under the plough would in a few years, after the irriga- 
ting system had been fairly tried and found to answer, be brought 
under cultivation. In the neighbourhood of Bathurst, and in many 
other parts of the Colony where rain is very uncertain, there are 
thousands of acres of alluvial land lying waste, which, upon my 
plan, would yield tens of thousands of bushels of wheat and 
maize. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



193 



meal. Every one knows how extensively this article 
is used in America, and how wholesome a food it is. 
Were the Australian farmers firmly and unanimously 
to determine upon making their dependents take at 
least half their weekly allowance in maize-meal, in 
place of wheaten flour, the latter would soon become 
fond of it. There would then be an inducement to 
extend its cultivation ; and the large sums of money 
annually remitted to Van Diemen s Land, Valparaiso, 
and Bengal, for wheat, would very shortly be reduced 
to a small cipher. 

To urge this most desirable object any further 
upon the Colonists of New South Wales, would be 
to insult their good sense. I will only express a 
wish that they may at once adopt measures to equal- 
ize their imports and exports, and that the few hints 
here thrown out to them, may be of use. 

The supply of tea and sugar to the Australian 
Colonies, has, on the whole, been a profitable trade 
to the parties engaged in it ; but it has, of late, been 
overdone. The quality of the tea and sugar now 
sent to Sydney, is far superior to what it used to be ; 
and the coarser sorts of both are going out of use ; a 
clear proof that the population are improving in 
respectability. Formerly, nothing in the shape of 
either article was too bad to send out to Australia. 
Things have changed, however, and several speculators 
have been serious losers within the last three years, by 

K 



194 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



sending goods that would have suited admirably six 
years ago. When I first went into the Bush, you 
might visit a dozen of the most respectable houses 
without being able to get any thing better than the 
most common hyson-skin tea and very dark moist 
sugar. A cup or two of the liquid made from these, 
would poison an old Indian; and I never ventured 
to drink it. A friend of mine, who absolutely 
dreaded being compelled to drink this stuff, used 
always to carry a paper of good black tea in his 
pocket, whenever he left his own house. He was in 
the right, though often laughed at. Mauritius sugar 
used to be the favourite at the time I speak of; but 
now, Manilla, Singapore, and Batavia are looked to 
for the supply of a better and cheaper article. From 
Manilla the Colonists import small supplies of coffee, 
chocolate, reed hats, and cheroots. Singapore and 
Batavia send them, in addition to sugar, quantities 
of rice, spices, Dutch gin, tea brought thither by 
Chinese junks, planks, &c. &c. Singapore sends 
also a ship or two annually to South Australia, Port 
Philip, and Van Diemen's Land. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



195 



CHAPTER XIV. 

NEW SOUTH WALES. 

CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY DISAPPOINTMENT OF 

EMIGRANTS CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH 

EMIGRANTS AVAILABLENESS OF CHINESE LABOURERS 

AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY TORRES' STRAITS THE 

BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS BOTANY BAY — PASSAGE 

FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA. 

To obtain admission to good society in Sydney, 
when my family first arrived there, was no easy 
matter. Not that there was any lack of it in the 
place, but the residents were, very properly, shy 
of strangers, unless provided with testimonials as to 
their respectability. Fortunately for us, a kind 
friend in Singapore, who had been in New South 
Wales, and knew the value of the favour he was 
conferring, supplied us with a whole packet of intro- 
ductory letters to the first families in the place ; 
while we were further aided in the matter by my 
old friend, Thos. Macquoid, Esq., then Sheriff of 
the Colony. In a place like Sydney, where society 
is formed of such varied and extraordinary materials 

k 2 



196 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



suspicion of strangers, on the part of the really respec- 
table portion of the community, is natural enough ; 
and those who have not been sufficiently wary in this 
respect, have had cause to regret their want of cau- 
tion. The tide of emigration is now bringing nu- 
merous highly respectable families to Australia, as 
well as thousands of hard-working, honest labourers, 
while the importation of felons has ceased. This 
state of things will, in time, do away with the ne- 
cessity for such extreme caution and mistrust. It 
will, however, take a number of years to clear the 
Colony of the half-reformed villain who still hankers 
after his old ways, — of the emancipist, whom the law 
looks upon as a reformed character, but whom expe- 
rience has taught the world to look upon with a very 
different eye, — and of the convicts for life, who still 
amount to thousands. Until the Colony is pretty 
well weeded of such characters, society will not, and 
cannot, dismiss the suspicion with which it is now 
rendered necessary, by circumstances, to regard the 
unintroduced stranger. 

I found no lack of agreeable society, both male and 
female, in any part of New South Wales that I visited. 
In many instances, the conversation certainly turned 
rather too much upon sheep and cattle; but this 
ought to be excused, where ninety-nine hundreths 
earn their daily bread by means of those animals. 
In Sydney, we found the dinner and evening parties 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



197 



highly agreeable, and composed of elegant, accom- 
plished, and intelligent persons of both sexes. What 
more can be said of any community ? During the 
government of Sir Richard Bourke, an attempt was 
made by him to introduce into his own parties some 
emancipist families ; and on one occasion, the grand- 
daughter of a late Sydney hangman actually made 
her appearance at a ball at Government-house. This 
fact being found out by the heads of families present, 
a representation was made to His Excellency through 
his aide-de-camp, and, after some show of oppo- 
sition on the part of the Governor, a stop was put to 
it. I do not mean to say that, among the class 
called emancipists, consisting of persons who have 
been convicts, there may not be found men and 
women who have become thoroughly reformed and 
fit to adorn society. This, however, is the exception, 
not the rule. A large majority of the class in ques- 
tion are quite unfit for any company but that of a 
low pot-house. 

Some of the most stylish equipages in Sydney 
are the property of men who came to the Colony 
with fetters on their legs. In them may be seen, 
any and every day, gayly-dressed women, driving 
about the town, shopping and lounging away their 
idle mornings. Whether they are the wives, daugh- 
ters, or mistresses of the owners of the carriages, it 
is difficult to tell ; but the conclusion that every 



198 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



second one contains a mistress, would not be far from 
the truth. Such is the society the unwary stranger 
sometimes falls into, before he knows what he is 
about ; nor does he become fully aware of the evil 
consequences of his imprudence, till he finds out 
with whom he has been associating, and that all 
access to the really respectable society of the place 
is closed against him. It is quite as requisite for a 
stranger arriving in Sydney to be on his guard as to 
his associates, as it is for residents to be careful whom 
they may admit into their families. 

There are many wealthy families in and near 
Sydney, whose heads came as convicts to the Colony. 
The days when such men could make rapid fortunes, 
are gone by ; and the convict who looks for any thing 
of the kind now-a-days, will find himself wofully 
mistaken. There are too many respectable trades- 
men in Sydney for ex-felons to have much chance ; 
and the time when a shopkeeper would not conde- 
scend to take a piece of cloth off his shelf to satisfy 
a customer, but would point to a lot with his stick, 
and ask, " Which will you have? 11 has also gone by. 
Every attention is now shewn to customers by 
Sydney shopkeepers, some of whom are not a whit 
behind their London brethren in the art of recom- 
mending their wares. 

New South Wales had been for many years a 
British Colony, before any Israelites found their way 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



199 



thither as free men ; and I have heard, that it was 
the return of a Jewish convict with well-lined 
pockets, that first attracted their attention to his 
place of exile. Be this as it may, there are more 
Jews than enough in Sydney now ; they are to be 
found in every quarter of the town ; and certainly, 
they keep up their ancient character for perseverance 
in search of their idol, money. I do not think, how- 
ever, that I ever came across a Jewish settler : why 
they seem to avoid that occupation, I know not. 

It is common, in Australia, to hear persons talk 
of the Colony as their adopted country, and so forth. 
No faith ought to be put in these declarations ; nor 
do I believe there is a family in the Colony, who do 
not entertain some hope of once more seeing their 
native land. During the time that high prices were 
obtainable for stock, hundreds of settlers who were 
wont to talk of their adopted country, used every 
exertion to realize their property in order to return to 
England. Many succeeded, and actually left the 
Colony, rejoicing in the idea of once more planting 
their foot on British ground. The exceptions to 
this general rule, are to be found in the emancipist 
class ; in the persons of notorious scamps who could 
not shew their face in respectable society in Eng- 
land, and who have sense enough to know that they 
are better off in the southern, than, by any chance, 
they could be in the northern hemisphere. 



200 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



From extensive experience, I am convinced, that a 
very large majority of emigrants are lamentably 
disappointed on reaching the shores of Australia. 
Not that I think they have cause for half the com- 
plaints they make ; but they have received, before 
leaving home, such flattering representations of the 
good fortune that is in store for them, that their 
expectations are raised to a pitch far beyond the 
probable, and disappointment is the natural conse- 
quence. The tales told them prior to their embark- 
ation, render them difficult to please on their arri- 
val ; they demand exorbitant wages, and more rations 
than they could possibly consume without waste; 
and the consequence of this is, that many of them 
remain weeks and months in Sydney, out of employ- 
ment, living upon the little money brought from 
home, although, in the meantime, eligible offers 
may have been made them. This stay in Sydney 
not only empties the emigrant's pocket, but breeds 
idle habits, leading him to the public-house, where 
his last penny is soon extracted from him. Then 
comes want, with all the horrors of a starving wife 
and family ; grown-up daughters are driven to pro- 
stitution ; and the emigrant himself is ultimately com- 
pelled to accept any offer made him in his degraded 
state. This is no overdrawn or rare picture, as any 
one acquainted with the subject can testify. Emi- 
grants that come to the Colony in what are called 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



201 



Government ships, and who are brought out at the 
public expense, are provided for on their arrival, till 
employment offers for them ; but, the moment they 
are known to have refused a fair offer, Government 
aid ceases. Even that circumstance, however, has 
little or no effect upon the more stubborn of them, 
who abate or yield in their demands only when com- 
pelled by necessity. Many emigrants, from their 
fondness for a town life, refuse good offers of em- 
ployment in the country. Great evils arise from 
this: one is, that it frequently happens, that 
Sydney is overrun with idle labourers in search of 
employment, while the settlers in the country are 
all crying out for help. To such a height had this 
evil risen, and to such distress were numbers of 
infatuated men reduced by remaining idle in town, 
that Government was recently applied to for its 
interference, and actually paid the expense of sending 
hundreds of men into the country, where they got 
immediate employment, which they might have had 
many months before, had they been reasonable in 
their demands. 

It is remarked all over the Colony, that the emi- 
grants generally are very difficult to satisfy in the 
matter of rations ; and that the man who had been 
the worst fed at home, was the most difficult to please 
abroad. An Irishman is generally found the chief 
grumbler here ; a Scotchman ranks second ; while an 
k 3 



202 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



English peasant, who has all his life fared better 
than either, is found, in Australia, to be most easily 
satisfied. I do not attempt to explain or account for 
this ; I have, however, not only frequently observed it, 
but have heard my neighbours make the same remark. 
I hired an Irish labourer and his wife, to whom I 
gave the following pay and rations : — 22l. a year to 
the man; 121. a year to his wife; weekly between 
the two, 14 lbs. of beef, 20 lbs. of flour, 3 lbs. of 
sugar, 6 oz. of tea, and 4 oz. of tobacco. With 
this allowance, for half of which thousands of fami- 
lies in England would be thankful, the couple were 
not satisfied, and actually complained that they had 
not enough to eat. It was summer time when they 
came to my farm ; and they were warned, that the 
blow-flies would destroy their meat, if it was not 
covered up : they were too lazy, however, to take 
the slightest care of it ; and, as I saw their second 
week's allowance lying on a table the day after it 
was served out, covered with a mass of blow-flies, I 
took them severely to task for their wanton waste 
and neglect. But it was of no avail. And this 
couple had lived upon potatoes and butter-milk all 
their lives ! It is but just to add, that, on men- 
tioning to a major in an Irish regiment, whom I 
subsequently met in China, the difficulty usually 
found in satisfying his countrymen in New South 
Wales, he expressed his astonishment, and remarked 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



203 



that the reverse was generally found to be the case 
with Irishmen in the army. 

Several ships with emigrants from the Highlands 
and Islands of Scotland, arrived at Sydney during 
the years 1838 and 1839. These people were, in 
general, unwilling to accept of employment in any 
shape, but preferred taking clearing-leases of small 
patches of land on their own account. This plan, 
many of them succeeded in carrying into execution, 
much to the disappointment and annoyance of the 
community at whose expense they had been brought 
to the Colony ; and it was reasonably complained, 
that these men, in place of supplying the labour- 
market, as was intended, actually created an increased 
demand for labour, by requiring aid in their own 
operations before the first twelvemonth had passed 
over them. Be this as it may, they are a hard- 
working, industrious set of men ; and whether their 
plans raise or depress wages, they have added mate- 
rially to the quantity of grain grown in the colony. 

Now that we have a footing in China, I would 
draw the attention of the inhabitants of New South 
Wales to Hong Kong for an unlimited supply of 
cheap labour. There, by means of an agent on the 
spot, they may procure thousands of able-bodied 
labourers, who will go to Australia for five dollars 
(22s. Qd.) per month, with their food. This rate of 
pay is much lower than what is paid to European 



204 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



labourers ; and the ration of rice for the China-man 
might be procured from Java, Bally, or Lombak, 
and laid down in Sydney at (or under) three half- 
pence per pound ; which is as cheap as No. 3 flour in 
the most abundant seasons, and much cheaper than 
that article usually is. For field-work, the China- 
man is fully equal to the European labourer. I speak 
advisedly, having tried them together, side by side, 
for months at a time. In a recent Singapore paper 
I find it stated, that the Home Authorities have 
authorised an agent to treat for the transmission of 
Chinese labourers from the Straits' settlements to 
the West Indies ; and, from my knowledge of those 
places, I have no doubt that thousands of men will 
be induced to avail themselves of this new market 
for their labour. Had New South Wales the same 
permission from Government, she might be equally, 
and probably more successful, because China-men 
always prefer emigrating to a country having fre- 
quent communication with their own. This advan- 
tage, New South Wales possesses over the West 
Indies, for as many as twenty or thirty vessels 
annually leave Sydney for China, There would be 
no difficulty in getting the Chinese labourer bound 
for five years, his pay to begin from the day he 
landed in Sydney, and his passage down to be paid 
by his employer. This last charge would add 30s. 
per annum to his wages ; but even then, he would 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



205 



be the cheapest labourer within reach of the Austra- 
lian farmer. Many gentlemen have turned their 
attention to Bengal for a supply of labour. The men 
procurable from that country, are not equal in physi- 
cal strength to the China-men, nor are they to be had 
for lower pay. I had six Bengal Coolies in my 
employ in the Bush, and have no hesitation in 
saying, that three China-men would have done their 
work. The proper immigrant to obtain from Bengal, 
if the Colonists choose to apply to that part of the 
world, is the Pariah, the man of no caste, who will 
eat any thing, apply himself to any kind of work, 
even to the killing, curing, or eating a pig, and give 
far less trouble than any of the high-caste men. The 
best season for despatching ships with emigrants 
from China to New South Wales, is from November 
till February, both inclusive. 

A source of vast wealth will open to Australia on 
the expiration of the Agricultural Company's coal- 
monopoly. That body, on its establishment in the 
Colony, obtained the privilege of working coal for 
thirty years, to the exclusion of all others. The in- 
justice of granting such a privilege to a Company 
who do not work more than one coal - mine, 
when there are literally thousands on the eastern 
coast of this Continent, is too obvious to require 
comment. Many landed proprietors who have rich 
veins of coal on their estates, are, under the present 



206 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



regulation, actually compelled to purchase the Agri- 
cultural Company's coal for the use of their own 
kitchens. It may well be imagined, that the money 
is paid with a very bad grace. Up to the time I left 
Sydney, the only coal-pit in operation was one at 
Newcastle, at the mouth of the river Hunter. From 
this source, an abundant supply of very fair quality 
was obtained, for which, if I mistake not, 12s. per 
ton was demanded at the pit's mouth. The Com- 
pany's coal waggons descend the hill from the pit, by 
an inclined plane, on iron rails, the descending wag- 
gon dragging up the empty one. At the foot of this 
inclined plane, a wharf or jetty runs a little way into 
the sea, so that vessels of four or five hundred tons 
burthen can haul alongside, and have their cargoes 
shot by waggon-loads down their hatches. All this 
is as it should be ; and when forty or fifty such pits 
are in full work, Australia may expect to reap some 
benefit from her mineral riches. The importance of 
a never-failing supply of coal in these days of steam 
travelling, is too evident to require a single word of 
remark. 

Talking of steam puts me in mind of the anxiety 
felt in Australia to secure the advantage of the In- 
dian Overland Mail, and of a plan for effecting their 
object which I have frequently thought of. On the 
arrival of the mail at Port Essington, from Singa- 
pore, why should it not be sent to Sydney in a steamer 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



207 



by sea, via Captain Kings inner passage through 
Torres' Straits, instead of adopting the far more ex- 
pensive and uncertain overland route formerly men- 
tioned ? This may seem a bold, and, to most people, 
an extraordinary suggestion ; the plan is, however, 
in my opinion, practicable at all seasons of the year, 
though more particularly so during the fine or south- 
east monsoon. I have sailed through Torres' Straits, 
and would not hesitate a moment to undertake to 
carry a powerful steamer from Port Essington to 
Sydney, through the admirably surveyed channel 
just mentioned. During the south-east monsoon, 
from April till September, the wind would be against 
her; but she would have the benefit of moderate 
and clear weather, and find no difficulty in seeing 
and evading every danger. In the north-west mon- 
soon, the steamer would have a fair wind, but hazy 
weather, with frequent squalls to contend against. 
The thick weather would undoubtedly be a disadvan- 
tage, as it would render objects less easily distin- 
guishable ; but then, the strong north-west winds 
and squalls would knock up a heavy sea, which would 
make the water break on every reef, thereby render- 
ing them easilv both seen and heard in the thickest 
weather. On the coast of Sumatra, I have heard 
the breakers seven miles off. Allowing that they 
can be heard half that distance, this would give a 
steamer plenty of time and space to keep clear of 



208 TRADE AND TRAVEL 

them. Running in the night would, of course, be 
out of the question in any season. It appears to me, 
that there is as much real danger in beating through 
the Palaware passage in November and December, 
which dozens of vessels do every year, as there pos- 
sibly could be to a steamer in passing to and fro 
between Port Essington and Sydney, at any season of 
the year, by King's inner passage. The weather in 
the Palaware, during the months I have mentioned, 
is as thick and stormy as can w 7 ell be imagined ; and 
the reefs, shoals, and other perils of navigation are 
numerous enough. The best route for passengers 
proceeding to Australia from Suez, would be vid 
Ceylon, whence a steamer w r ould run down south- 
south- east to the fortieth parallel of south latitude in 
thirteen days, under steam : then she would get the 
prevailing strong westerly winds, which w 7 ould take 
her under canvas to Hobart Town in ten or twelve 
days ; let her stop two days there to take in coal and 
land passengers, and, in three days more, she would 
be in Sydney. By this route, the passenger for 
Sydney would find himself at his journey's end in 
sixty-three or sixty-five days from Southampton, 
while the mail via Marseilles would be of four days 
shorter date. I have my doubts, indeed, whether 
New South Wales is in a position to bear the expense 
of such a plan : it certainly could not be a profitable 
venture for years to come ; and whether the Colonists 



IN THE FAR EAST. 209 

would be willing to be so much per annum out of 
pocket, in the meantime, remains to be seen. 

In describing Port Jackson, I omitted to notice 
the neighbouring harbour, called Botany Bay, ori- 
ginally discovered by Captain Cook, and subse- 
quently abandoned for its rival. It is a noble 
and beautiful bay, entered through a gap in the 
cliff facing the Pacific. This bein^ much wider 
than that leading into Port Jackson, and the heads 
not overlapping each other in the least, Botany 
Bay is exposed to the fury of the easterly gales, 
which renders it, during their prevalence, an unsafe 
harbour. From its great width, I was induced to 
suppose that this evil might be obviated by ships 
seeking shelter behind the heads; but, on inquiry, 
I learned, that the depth of water does not admit 
of this: the water is shallow all round the bay, 
which compels vessels to anchor a considerable 
distance from the shore, and leaves them exposed 
to the eastward. In short, as a harbour, it will not 
bear comparison with Port Jackson. The name of 
Botany Bay was given to it from the very great 
variety and beauty of the native flowers found on 
its shores. I am not botanist enough to describe 
these flowers, but I noticed them with surprise and 
admiration. I saw nothing else, however, to attract 
any one to the neighbourhood : the soil is wretchedly 
poor, principally covered with scrub, and, with the 



21U 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



exception of a few spots in the hollows, utterly- 
valueless to the farmer. A few half-starved cows 
only, belonging to Sydney families, and called the 
town herd, may be seen picking up the poor and 
scanty herbage. In this neighbourhood, the Sydney 
hounds meet, and occasionally amuse their pro- 
prietors, by chasing a miserable "native dog" to 
death. The only buildings of any interest on the 
shores of this bay, are, the monument built by the 
French Government to the memory of the unfor- 
tunate La Perouse, and a solitary mill on the banks 
of a little stream that runs into it from the west- 
ward. How this mill is employed in such a lonely 
place, where no cultivation is to be seen, I cannot 
imagine, but should not wonder if a few pounds 1 
weight of tobacco and gallons of spirits found their 
way into the Colony hereabout, without benefiting 
the revenue. 

In April 1839, I left the shores of Australia, with 
my family, bound for Batavia and Singapore vid 
Torres' Straits. We had a fine run up the coast, 
and made the celebrated Barrier Reef on the morn- 
ing of the fourteenth day after leaving Sydney. We 
were fortunate in finding a magnificent entrance into 
the Straits, in latitude 12° 18' South, and were fairly 
inside the barrier by nine a. m. This entrance, which 
is at least three miles wide, it is worth any ship's 
while to seek for : it may be known by two small 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



211 



rocks on the south side, as you enter, resembling 
hay-cocks in shape and size : we saw them three 
miles off, and they were the only objects visible 
above water, on the portion of the Barrier within our 
view. From our entrance, we had a fine run, and 
found nothing to stop us for a minute (during day- 
light), till clear of Booby Island at the western end 
of the Straits, which we passed at 10 a.m. on the 
seventeenth day from Sydney. 

These celebrated Straits pick up and destroy some 
half a dozen ships annually, and are so much dreaded 
by underwriters, that they refuse to insure loaded 
vessels through them. From my own observation, 
and what I have heard from others who have passed 
through Torres 1 Straits on various occasions, it ap- 
pears to me, that a great proportion of this loss of 
property arises from carelessness on the part of ship- 
masters. The current in the Pacific Ocean runs very 
strong to the north-west in the neighbourhood of the 
Barrier ; and this current is often forgotten or not 
sufficiently allowed for by ship-masters the night 
before they expect to make the reef. At sun-down, 
the night before we made it, we were eighty miles 
from it ; we went under easy sail all night, and, from 
the distance logged during the night, expected to 
make the reef at noon, having made all sail at day- 
light ; instead of which, we came suddenly on it at 
8 a.m., thus having been thrown four hours out of 



212 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



our reckoning since sun -set the night before. Many 
ships, by not heaving-to at all, or not doing so in 
time, the night previous to making the reef, drift too 
far to the northward during the night, miss the pas- 
sage they were endeavouring to make, and are com- 
pelled to run along the reef in search of another ; for 
there is no getting back to the southward against 
wind and current. This neglect throws many a 
vessel up to the Murray Islands'* passages, which are 
notoriously the most dangerous, and are now gene- 
rally avoided by shipping. Then there is hazy wea- 
ther occasionally in those parts, even in the finest 
months : during its continuance, no vessel ought to 
approach the Barrier, though many are imprudent 
enough to do so, and too frequently pay the penalty. 
In the Barrier, there are many gaps, called " horse- 
shoes," which, in thick weather, look like real en- 
trances, the breakers at the bottom of them not 
being visible from the ship. I have known many 
vessels lost by taking a horse-shoe for a real entrance 
in hazy weather. Other vessels get wrecked from 
paying too little attention to the dangers that beset 
them, after getting safe through the Barrier. There 
are small patches of reef here and there, in the 
middle of the many channels that run between the 
main reefs : these pick up many vessels that might 
be saved, were a careful look-out kept on board. I 
could give instances of losses happening in each of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



213 



these ways ; but the careless have suffered so severely 
from their neglect, that I would not hurt them by 
naming the ships. 

We had a fine run to Batavia, where we arrived in 
thirty-one days from Sydney. A sail from Australia 
to any part of the Malayan Archipelago, during the 
south-east monsoon, is, perhaps, the pleasantest voy- 
age a traveller could undertake : he has smooth 
water and a fair wind all the way, with a constant 
succession of magnificent scenery among the nu- 
merous islands of perpetual summer with which 
those seas are studded. 

I have heard many seamen talk lightly of the 
dangers of Torres 1 Straits and the Barrier Reef, and 
have known more than one of those over-confident 
gentry subsequently wrecked there. For my own 
part, I have a great awe of those dangers, and can 
vouch for some ship's crews having the same feeling. 
On our approach to the Barrier, our crew, which con- 
sisted of as rattle-pated a set as sailors usually are, 
were doubly active, obeyed every order with alacrity, 
and so quietly, that the fall of a pin might have been 
heard at any part of the ship. Some ships avoid 
entering the Barrier towards sun- set : this precaution 
is unnecessary, if they are sure that the entrance 
they are approaching is a true one. Although, out- 
side the Barrier, there are no soundings at a hundred 
fathoms, a ship is not twice her own length inside it, 



214 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



before she is in good anchorage with eighteen to 
twenty-five fathoms water. There, she may drop 
her anchor, and ride in perfect safety till daylight 
enables her to pursue her course. Were she to keep 
outside all night, the current would drift her to the 
northward, and compel her to seek a fresh entrance 
next day. The Barrier Reef extends from the coast 
of New Holland to that of Papua or New Guinea, 
with numerous gaps or entrances in it, which appear 
to be kept open by the current that, for six months 
in the year, runs through them from the Pacific to 
the Indian Seas, and in the contrary direction during 
the other six. Notwithstanding this current, how- 
ever, I think it extremely probable, that the indus- 
trious coral insect, whose labours never cease within 
the Tropics, will, sooner or later, fill up the entire 
space, close Torres 1 Straits, and join those two 
mighty islands, between which the Barrier Reef, or, 
more properly, Reefs, now stand like aline of gigantic 
stepping-stones. The gaps in the Reef, in and about 
the ninth and tenth parallels of south latitude, are much 
narrower than those further south, some of them being 
not twenty yards wide ; which looks as if, agreeably 
to my theory, the minute architect had commenced 
operations on the coast of Papua, and was gradually 
working his way southward. What a magnificent 
line for a rail-road this Reef will then make, with the 
boundless Pacific on one side, and the reefs and 



\ 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



215 



islands of the Straits on the other ! What a splendid 
thoroughfare would this highway form to New Gui- 
nea, New Britain, New Ireland, and the countless 
islands in their immediate vicinity ! But I shall be 
thought to be looking rather too far into futurity. 

On our passage from Booby Island to the Java 
Sea, we passed through the Straits of Alas, which 
run between the Islands of Lombak and Sambawa. 
The scenery in these straits is very fine. On the 
left, you have Lombak Hill, 7000 feet high, sloping 
gradually from the peak to the sea, and covered with 
thick forest. On the right, is the coast of Sambawa, 
exhibiting the most extraordinary collection of sugar- 
loaf hills I ever saw : they look as if they had been drop- 
ped there at random in a shower. The whole collec- 
tion would hardly be seen on the top of Lombak 
hill. Half this island was laid completely waste in 
1816, by an eruption of one of its volcanic moun- 
tains : thousands of the inhabitants, with their cattle 
and poneys, were killed ; and the effects are visible on 
the spot to this day. Sambawa is celebrated for its 
race of poneys, which are certainly very fine, spi- 
rited little animals. Hundreds of them are brought 
by the native boats every year to Batavia and Sin- 
gapore, at both which places they meet with a ready 
market. 



216 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



CHAPTER XV. 

CHINA. 

DESCRIPTION OF MACAO ITS MONGREL POPULATION 

FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES — PIRACIES COMPRADORE 

SYSTEM — PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE— MARKET OF MACAO 

NUISANCES SIR HENRY POTTINGER's REGULATION DE- 
FENDED—ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE, AND 

ITS RESULT BOAT-GIRLS BEGGARS PICTURESQUE 

SCENERY. 

I have referred, in a former chapter, to the occasion 
of my first visit to the Celestial Empire. My last 
visit took place shortly after Sir Henry Pottinger 
had brought the Chinese to terms, off the city of 
Nankin, and before the treaty had been ratified by 
the Sovereigns of both countries. My stay there was 
protracted till the ratification took place, the supple- 
mentary treaty published, and Her Majesty's Consuls 
stationed at each of the five ports, with the exception 
of Foo Chow. I had thus an opportunity of wit- 
nessing the first start of the free trade ; of which I 
shall have a few words to say hereafter. I shall 
now begin with Macao. This once celebrated Portu- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



217 



guese settlement is built on two small hills of a pen- 
insula about thirty-five miles below the Bocca Tigris, 
or mouth of the Canton river : it is irregularly built, 
the streets being very narrow and crooked, and, until 
very recently, badly paved with rough granite stones 
of all shapes, the corners generally pointing upwards, 
as if to teach the inhabitants to walk with caution. 
It possesses a healthy climate, though the summer is 
very hot, the thermometer ranging in the shade from 
85° to 90°. Many of the houses occupied by the 
wealthier portion of the inhabitants, are large, airy, 
and convenient residences. Since the war with 
China broke out, Macao, which had greatly declined 
from its ancient importance, has thriven, and many 
of its citizens have become wealthy in consequence of 
the British trade to China being thrown by circum- 
stances into its harbour. The local Government 
have taken advantage of the times, to improve the 
town, to re-pave the streets, to build a new and 
handsome Custom-house, and to make other im- 
provements at John Bull's expense. The Portuguese 
inhabitants of Macao amount to about five thousand, 
not two hundred of whom are of pure European 
blood. The general population are, with few excep- 
tions, of a mongrel breed; a mixture of Chinese, 
Portuguese, and Negroes, which it is difficult to 
describe. Nine-tenths of them are very poor, but all 
of them are very proud, and fond of show and dress. 

L 



218 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



It is quite amusing to see the pompous strut of the 
men on a Sunday, as they walk to mass in their ill- 
made silk coats, with gold-headed sticks in hand. Both 
men and women are the worst-favoured race I ever 
saw : their flat, unmeaning countenances, small, lack- 
lustre eyes, strong, upright, black hair, resembling 
hogs' bristles more than aught else, and yellow skins, 
form a tout ensemble any thing but pleasing. The 
men adopt the European fashions. The ladies wear 
the mantilla; and the women of the poorer classes 
wear a petticoat and small jacket, generally of 
British chintz, with a mantilla of coarser material. 
The very poorest of them may be seen, on Sunday 
morning, going to mass in silk stockings. The 
wealthier Portuguese reside in large and comfort- 
able houses, but the lower orders inhabit wretched 
hovels, and suffer very severely from sickness, par- 
ticularly the small-pox; a scourge that carried off, 
during the winter and spring of 1842-3, one thou- 
sand people, — just a fifth of the whole Portuguese 
population. Their habits are idle and dirty. I am 
not aware, indeed, of ever having seen a more filthy 
town than Macao. No one seems to think that the 
streets were made for any other purpose than to 
serve as reservoirs for all the filth of the houses that 
line them. Heaps of abominable rubbish are seen 
here and there, which would be still more numerous, 
were it not for the occasional heavy rains, which 



IX THE FAR EAST. 



219 



wash down the steep streets, and carry off the accu- 
mulated masses to the sea. A few days before 
Christmas 1S42, the town underwent a general 
sweeping : an event that did not take place again till 
that time twelvemonth. The other inhabitants of 
Macao are, Chinese, Negroes, and a few English and 
Americans. The Chinese here are nearly all of the 
lower orders, and, for the most part, are not over- 
scrupulous how they get their living: in proof of 
which I may mention, that four highway robberies, 
accompanied with violent assault, took place in the 
immediate neighbourhood, in open day, during the 
stay of six weeks which I made there in the autumn 
of 1S42. The shopkeepers and boatmen are all 
Chinese; and among them may be found some as 
thorough-bred scoundrels as ever disgraced humanity. 
During the year 1S43, the following crimes were 
perpetrated by Chinese in and about Macao : they 
were clearly brought home to them, and, in all pro- 
bability do not form a tenth of what might with 
justice be laid to their charge : — 

1. Mr. Sharpes lorcha (trading-boat), on her voy- 
age from Macao to Canton, was piratically attacked 
within ten miles of the former place, and plundered 
of her cargo of opium ; Mr. Sharpe was murdered, 
and five of his crew ; the rest, being Chinese, were 
taken off by the pirates, (they subsequently proved 
to be their associates,) and the lorcha was burned 
l 2 



220 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



2. A lorcha bound from Hong Kong to Macao, 
manned by Macao Chinese, and loaded with spice 
and other valuable property, was carried off by her 
crew, (who murdered an English doctor on board,) 
the cargo plundered, and the vessel burned. 

3. Another lorcha, bound from Macao to Hong 
Kong, with a general cargo and two passengers, was 
carried off in the same way, plundered, and then 
burned : the unfortunate passengers (two respectable 
young men ; one an Irishman, named Clark, the 
other from Shetland, a Mr. Clunis) were in like 
manner murdered. 

4. A boat was sent off from Macao with a 
box of treasure containing some 12,000 dollars, 
under the charge of a Parsee clerk of the firm to 
whom the money belonged. They left the shore at 
two p.m., and the ship they were bound to was at 
anchor only five miles off. The non-appearance of 
the treasure which was expected on board, caused 
the captain to go on shore to make inquiries about 
five in the afternoon : his questions alarmed the 
Parsee merchant, who had sent off the money and 
his clerk at two. Strict inquiry was instituted, and 
the result was, the certainty that the poor man had 
been murdered and thrown overboard by the boat's 
crew, who made off with the money. 

5. A boat was sent from a ship in the harbour 
called the Typa, to one in the outer roads, to trans- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



221 



ship fourteen chests of opium : the crew consisted of 
four Chinese and one Lascar, with the second mate 
in charge. The opium was taken in, and the boat 
started on her return to the Typa about two p.m. 
When about half way between the two harbours, the 
four Chinese suddenly dropped their oars, seized the 
mate and Lascar, stunned them with the boat's tiller, 
and threw them overboard : their bodies were picked 
up next day, and gave the first intimation of their 
fate. Two of the pirates were subsequently caught 
and executed ; but the property, worth 10,000 dollars, 
was irretrievably lost. 

6. A British merchant in Macao sent an order 
off to his ship in the Typa, to bring on shore, 
in the course of the day, a box containing 6000 
dollars : the money was put into a boat belonging to 
the vessel at ten in the forenoon, and started for the 
inner harbour, about an hours pull. She was at- 
tacked by a fast-pulling Chinese boat, when about 
half way between the ship and the shore, and robbed 
of the dollars ; but no violence was offered to the 
crew, who were China-men. When this money was 
being packed and put into the boat, some Chinese 
sailors on board the ship were observed making 
signs as if to some one at a distance : no notice was 
taken of this circumstance at the time, though it 
was remarked upon when too late. 

I could enumerate other cases of a similar nature • 



222 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



but these six are sufficient for my present pur- 
pose. 

The Chinese servants in the employ of Europeans 
at Macao, Canton, and Hong Kong, are, without ex- 
ception, the most consummate set of scamps it has 
ever been my fortune to encounter. Their whole 
study from morning to night and from night to 
morning, is, how to cheat their masters. There is 
not an article put upon the table, that is not charged 
at four times its value. If you keep a cow, or even 
a dozen cows, not one drop of milk can you obtain, 
more than barely enough for daily use ; and should 
any attempts be made to punish either the cow- 
keeper or the head servant for their villany, ten to 
one that your cows are poisoned before another week 
passes over your head. This state of things might 
be, in a great measure, put a stop to, were masters to 
pay more attention to their domestic affairs ; but 
most of the European merchants of China, being men 
of wealth, and engaged in mercantile transactions of 
great importance, deem such matters beneath their 
notice ; and thus, the system goes on to the serious 
loss and inconvenience of less wealthy men. I knew 
one instance in which a housekeeper by perseverance 
reduced his market-bill from 150 dollars per month 
to 45 dollars ; but the consequence was, that his ser- 
vants to a man left him : he could obtain no good 
ones in their place, and was ultimately obliged to 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



223 



give in. As a set-off against this crying evil, I may 
mention the practice which prevails, of the cornpra- 
dore (or head servant) becoming security for those 
under him, and finding security on his own part to 
a certain amount, varying according to circum- 
stances ; so that, if any of the under- servants steal the 
plate or any other property of their master's, the com- 
pradore, as a matter of course, makes good its value. 

The Negroes here, as in most other parts of the 
world where they are met with, are slaves, poorly 
fed, hard worked, and occasionally very severely 
flogged. Every house in Macao occupied by a man 
of any substance, has its slaves ; and the Govern- 
ment is a large slave-holder. All the porters at the 
Custom-house and other public offices are slaves. 
These unfortunate creatures are brought from Papua 
by Portuguese vessels, which pay an annual visit to 
the settlements of their countrymen on the Island of 
Timor. How they are obtained from Papua, I am 
not aware; but that some hundreds of them are 
carried to Macao every season, and sold there, is a 
fact beyond contradiction. This abominable traffic 
received a check last season (1843) from the Java 
Government It appears that a Portuguese barque 
called the Margaretta, the owner of which was a 
wealthy inhabitant of Macao, sailed from Timor for 
Macao in the month of September, with some fifty 
slaves on board, all children under ten years of age. 



224 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Some accident compelled her to call at Batavia for 
repairs, where her master reported the children as 
having been sent by the authorities at Timor to 
Macao, to be brought up in the Roman-Catholic 
faith. The suspicions of the Dutch Authorities were, 
however, awakened, and the proceedings of the Por- 
tuguese ship-master were narrowly watched. A few 
days only had elapsed, when he was detected in en- 
deavouring to sell two of the unfortunate infants to 
a Chinese for 500 guilders (42Z.) each. This led to 
the examination of his bills of lading and other 
papers, when it was found, that the children had been 
regularly shipped and manifested as slaves. The 
result was, the confiscation of ship and cargo, and the 
liberation of the young captives, who, I presume, 
(though I am not sure on the point,) s were, as usual* 
apprenticed out as domestic servants to families in 
want of them. I gave the admiral on the China 
station full particulars of this event ; and hope that 
he will cause a sharp look-out to be kept on the 
Portuguese vessels returning from Timor next 
autumn. 

The market of Macao is well supplied with game, 
butchers' meat, pork, poultry, fruit, and vegetables : 
all these might be had on very reasonable terms, if 
the Chinese seller were allowed his own way ; but, 
before he reaches the market from his home, he is 
taxed and re-taxed by every petty rogue of a Man- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



2£5 



darin whose station he may happen to pass on his 
way. On reaching the market, he is taxed again, 
and is compelled to sell to the general dealer, who 
squeezes him to the last cash, and re-sells at an exor- 
bitant profit to the Englishman's compradore, who 
charges his master, on a moderate calculation, four 
times what he gave ; so that, by the time the En- 
glishman's dinner is on his table, it costs him no 
trifle. Game is plentiful only in winter, which sets 
in in November. Wild ducks, teal, pheasants, par- 
tridges, snipe, with an occasional deer, are to be 
had, all fat and in prime order, at this season. The 
Chinese bullock is a compact little animal, and, when 
fattened, yields remarkably good beef. 

Macao, like all Portuguese towns, is well stocked 
with priests ; and were we to judge from the number 
of them who are seen parading the streets, as, also, 
from that of women constantly bending their steps 
church-ward, the inhabitants must be a very devout 
race. From seven in the morning till dusk, the 
streets are rarely free from church-going ladies; 
many of them followed by Negro slaves carrying 
their kneel ing-rugs and prayer-books. One of the 
greatest nuisances in Macao is the perpetual ringing 
or tolling of church-bells, day and night : as soon as 
one stops, another begins ; and the sleep-killing ding- 
dong is kept up at a rate that, in the warm nights 
of summer, is enough to drive a stranger frantic, 
l 3 



226 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Every house has a watchman, who goes his rounds 
from eight in the evening till daylight next morn- 
ing, and, every half hour, beats a hollow bamboo 
with a heavy stick, making noise enough to disturb 
the soundest sleeper. This keeping a watchman is 
neither more nor less than paying black-mail. Any 
housekeeper who should seek to evade the imposi- 
tion by doing without a guardian of the night, would 
infallibly be plundered in a week or two, the thieves 
being, most probably, conducted to his premises by 
some neighbour's watchman. 

The streets of Macao being narrow, rough, crooked, 
and, in general, very steep, wheel-carriages of any 
description are entirely unknown. Their place is 
supplied by sedan-chairs of Chinese make, carried by 
Chinese porters : these may be hired for a dollar 
per day, and are very convenient, either in wet or in 
extremely hot weather. The bearers, like those of 
their profession in England, are apt to impose upon 
strangers, who must be on their guard till they 
become acquainted with the ways of the place. 

Macao is infested with loathsome beggars, who 
scruple not to expose their ulcerated legs, arms, &c. 
for the purpose of exciting the charitable feelings of 
the passer-by. They make a point of stopping at 
the door of any shop in which they see a European, 
whose ears they immediately assail with the most 
discordant noise, by beating a hollow bamboo with a 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



227 



stick ; a mode of annoyance which the law of China 
allows, and which is carried on in Macao ; but, in the 
neighbouring British settlement, an entire stop has 
been put to it. This, they well know, will soon cause 
the shopkeeper to give them a cash* or two, or his 
customer to leave the premises. In China, no native 
can turn a beggar from his door, till he has given him 
something in the shape of charity : the merest trifle, 
however, is sufficient to authorize the forcible ex- 
pulsion of the applicant. I have seen as little as a 
tea-spoonful of rice given on such occasions, when 
the sulky and grumbling mendicant took his reluc- 
tant departure towards the next door, where he 
would, perhaps, meet similar treatment with a repe- 
tition of " curses not loud, but deep." 

The Portuguese of Macao made a great ado on Sir 
Henry Pottinger's declaring their settlement, in as 
far as British subjects were concerned, part of the 
dominions of the Emperor of China : this, at first 
sight, appeared strange to many people besides the 
Macao citizens, but, when the subject received due 
consideration, Sir Henry was found to be quite cor- 
rect in the view he had taken of it. Macao is not 
a Portuguese settlement, in the proper sense of that 
word, but only a territory leased to that Power on 
certain terms, for which an annual tribute or rent is 

* One thousand of these make a dollar, so that the value of one- 
is less than a quarter of a farthing. 



223 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



paid to this day. The Chinese laws are in force 
here ; their Mandarins levy duties, and tax every 
article sold in its markets ; its porters, boatmen, 
compradores, &c. require Chinese licenses, but not 
Portuguese : in short, the Chinese are lords of the 
manor, and the Portuguese are mere tenants, with 
leave to build forts, and to levy certain duties on the 
commerce of the place. Looking at the matter in 
this light, every unprejudiced person must admit, 
that Sir Henry Pottinger, in exercising the power 
vested in him by Her Majesty's Government, and in 
framing regulations for the wholesome restraint of 
Her Majesty's subjects visiting China, (some of whom, 
it may be remarked, are troublesome and very 
unruly characters,) was perfectly right in including 
the peninsula of Macao in the dominions of His Ce- 
lestial Majesty. The Portuguese were very indig- 
nant ; at least, they pretended to be so ; but it never 
would have done, to allow British subjects, fleeing 
from their creditors or from justice, to have an 
asylum where they could safely evade the laws of 
their own country, at a foreign station scarcely 
forty miles from the new British settlement of 
Hong Kong.* 

* The present Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Davis, has gone 
even further than Sir Henry Pottinger, and has given notice to the 
Authorities at Macao, that British subjects are no longer amenable 
to their laws. This is as it should be, and as it ought to have been a 
hundred years ago. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



229 



The trade of Macao was of very little importance, 
and its revenues never paid its expenses, till the late 
Chinese war broke out. Circumstances then drove 
the British merchants from Canton, and nearly the 
whole of them took up their abode in Macao, where 
they continued till the Portuguese Government was 
called upon by the Chinese to refuse them further 
protection. They were then compelled to seek 
shelter on board the shipping of their country, where 
many of them remained for nearly twelvemonths, 
till the course of events allowed of their returning 
to Macao. Their presence soon attracted hundreds 
of wealthy and respectable Chinese dealers, and quad- 
rupled the trade of the place, as well as its revenue ; 
which enabled the Portuguese Governor to make a 
handsome remittance to Lisbon, in place of drawing 
upon that city for some 40,000 dollars annually, as 
he had hitherto been in the constant practice of 
doing, to rebuild many of the public edifices, and 
to improve the town generally, while it added much 
to the wealth and comfort of almost every woman 
and child in the place. This was a piece of good 
fortune the Portuguese of Macao most certainly did 
not deserve, their system, as regards foreign com- 
merce, being as illiberal as can well be imagined. 
During the time they were reaping this rich harvest 
from British trade, British subjects were not per- 
mitted to land or ship a single package of goods* 



230 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



nor to have their names entered in the Custom- 
house books. On the arrival of a ship with goods 
suited to the Macao market, the English consignee 
was obliged to employ a Portuguese citizen to enter 
and pass them through the Custom-house, before a 
package could be landed. The duties, also, were 
exorbitant ; and, strange as it may appear, they even 
taxed money, which could not be imported without 
paying one per cent. duty. I have elsewhere seen 
an export duty put on treasure ; but the Macao Go- 
vernment is the only one I ever knew to impose any 
restrictions on the importation of a commodity which 
most Governments, as well as individuals, are gene- 
rally anxious to receive, in unlimited quantity, with- 
out taxing those who bring it to them. No English 
vessel was allowed to enter their inner harbour: 
this privilege was reserved for Spaniards and Por- 
tuguese. On one occasion, a small British schooner 
of war was proceeding into this haven, her com- 
mander never imagining that the restriction put on 
the merchant vessels of his country could possibly 
extend to Her Britannic Majesty's pennant : he was 
mistaken, however, and the first battery he came 
near, threatened to fire into him. The threat was of 
course disregarded, and the little schooner, in de- 
fiance of Portuguese batteries, quietly pursued her 
way. 

How this state of things could be so long put up 

I 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



231 



with by the British Government, it is hard to under- 
stand. When one considers that Portugal owes its 
very existence as a nation to England ; that Macao, 
on more than one occasion, was saved from the fury 
of a Chinese army and rabble, during the late war, 
by British ships and men ; that nine-tenths of the 
money that passes through its coffers, is English 
money; that Portuguese citizens visiting the dif- 
ferent ports of British India, are free to come and 
go, land and ship their goods in their own names, 
hold houses and other fixed property, and act in all 
respects as British subjects, and as seemeth most for 
their own interest ; when, I say, these facts are con- 
sidered, one is utterly at a loss to conceive why 
Great Britain should suffer her subjects to be 
cramped in their mercantile pursuits by so very 
insignificant a power as Portugal. Now that it is 
too late, the Authorities of Macao have discovered 
their error, and mended their manners, by opening 
the inner harbour to British shipping, by allowing 
British merchants to land and ship goods in their 
own names, and by lowering the duties on several 
articles of British manufacture. These changes, 
which would have been accepted as boons two years 
before, were adopted only when the Portuguese 
found nearly every British merchant building ware- 
houses and private dwellings in Hong Kong. Had 
they been made prior to the commencement of those 



232 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



buildings, I have good reasons for supposing, that 
many of them never would have been begun, their 
proprietors having a great dislike to the new British 
settlement on account of its reputed unhealthiness, 
— a reputation, I am sorry to say, it has too well 
sustained. Dozens of houses in Macao are already 
vacant ; dozens more will be so before another six 
months shall elapse ; hundreds of families who have 
depended on their house-rent and on money earned 
in other ways from British subjects for their daily 
bread, will be reduced to want ; many of them will 
and must emigrate to Hong Kong ; and Macao, with 
its streets of new houses, built in anticipation of the 
continued residence of foreign merchants, will sink 
into utter insignificance, and become as a place that 
has been, but is no more. Its Governor will again 
have to draw, for the means of paying the expenses 
of the place, on his Royal Mistress at Lisbon, who 
will then reap the well-merited reward of an illiberal 
and short-sighted policy. 

If a passenger, on his arrival at Macao, lands in 
the inner harbour, he has to pass his baggage through 
the Portuguese Custom-house, where it will be not 
only thoroughly examined, but also, very probably, 
plundered. A trunk of my own, which / saw carried 
into this building along with several others, never 
came out again: its contents were valuable, and 
were much missed by my family. What became of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



233 



them, I know not ; but certain I am, that the Custom- 
house authorities of Macao made away with them. 
If the passenger chooses to land at the outer harbour, 
he encounters the Chinese Custom-house, where he is 
charged so much for each package, in the shape of 
duty, and is allowed to pass on without bare-faced 
robbery. Some sixteen years ago, this Chinese 
Custom-house was in the practice of levying a dollar 
per package on a passenger's luggage, a similar sum 
on his wife, and on every female child, while the boys 
passed free. This does not tell to the credit of Chi- 
nese gallantry. Things are altered now, however ; 
and ladies with their daughters are permitted to land 
without let or hinderance. 

When a foreign vessel anchors in Macao Roads, (a 
very exposed anchorage by the way,) she is speedily 
visited by three or four compradores' boats, which 
come out in search of employment, and with offers to 
supply the ship with fresh provisions, &c, during her 
stay. The compradore is a very useful fellow, but, in 
nine cases out of ten, a great rogue, who scruples not 
to swell out his bill against the ship by various means 
the reverse of fair. They all speak broken English. 
In moderate weather, they go twenty or thirty miles 
out to sea in quest of inward-bound vessels. The 
first time I went to China, we were boarded by a 
compradore' s boat previously to making the land. A 
fresh breeze was blowing at the time, before which 



234 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



the ship was going eight knots an hour : this, how- 
ever, did not prevent the Chinese boatmen from 
dashing alongside in very smart style, hooking on by 
the fore-chains with their own rope, and disdaining 
the aid of a line thrown from the vessel to hang on 
by. Mr. Compradore appeared on the poop, " chin- 
chinning" while we strangers were looking with ad- 
miration at the activity of his men in the boat. The 
captain engaged him to attend the ship, on which he 
immediately started for Macao, and was alongside 
again by daylight next morning, with a most wel- 
come supply of fresh beef, vegetables, &c. In the 
compradore s boat, passengers can generally get a 
passage on shore, or, rather, to within a few hundred 
yards of the beach. The boatmen are afraid to ap- 
proach nearer, on account of the Mandarins, who are 
apt to squeeze them, if they are seen landing foreign- 
ers. The remaining distance is usually got over in 
small tancea, or ferry-boats, numbers of which ply 
about Macao in all directions, invariably guided by 
women, called, from their mode of life, " Tancea- 
girls.'' 1 Poor things ! They work hard for their 
daily bread, being constantly exposed to the sun in 
summer, and to cold in winter. They live in their 
boats, which, at night, are snugly covered up with a 
roof made of a bamboo frame, the interstices filled 
up with thick matting, and, in the whole course of 
their lives, never pass a night on shore. They are 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



235 



said to be of a peculiar race, and never intermarry 
with the real Chinese, who look down upon them 
with contempt. 

The scenery round Macao is striking, and some 
of the views are particularly so : that from the hill 
immediately behind the town, is perhaps the best. 
From this spot you have a bird's-eye view of the 
whole town, the beach, with its hundreds of large 
and small Chinese boats, on your left ; further on, in 
the same direction, Macao Roads with the foreign 
shipping; while, beyond these, the islands of Ling- 
ting, Lantow, and numerous others of smaller size, 
are seen in the distance : to the right, you catch 
an occasional glimpse of the numerous rivers and 
arms of the sea, with numbers of picturesque 
Chinese boats gliding about, literally among the hills 
and dales ; and, here and there, a Chinese village is 
seen, with its little patch of cultivation, its herds of 
buffaloes and pigs, and countless groupes of little 
Celestials. Casting your eye along this view from 
north to south, you come to the harbour called 
* Typa" in which there are generally some thirty or 
forty vessels at anchor, and which, though an arm of 
the sea, looks here like an inland lake. This view, on 
a clear day, would delight the painter, though it has 
one great deficiency, namely, the entire absence of 
trees. The hills in the neighbourhood, far and near, 
are completely bare. Such is Macao, a miserable, 



236 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



dirty, crowded town, rendered important for a while 
by its locality, but now fast sinking back into its native 
insignificance, owing to the gross stupidity of the 
Portuguese Authorities, more than to any other cause. 
Proceed we now to the new British settlement of 
Hong Kong. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



237 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CHINA. 

ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG THE OPIUM 

TRADE IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT 

OF A FRESH WAR CHUSAN HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE 

— CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY RAPID PROGRESS 

OF THE SETTLEMENT PORTUGUESE PENURY MARKETS 

— SANATORY HINTS. 

Having spent twelve months in Hong Kong, I will 
now endeavour to give an impartial sketch of its 
situation as to trade, its importance in the event of 
another Chinese war, and of its climate, general 
appearance, and commercial progress. 

Situated as this island is at the mouth of the 
Canton river, and in the immediate neighbourhood 
of an immense trade, one can hardly question the 
prudence of the choice that fixed upon it for a 
British settlement. It has not yet (July 1844) been 
two years in our possession; and already its mag- 
nificent harbour is crowded with the ships of Eng- 
land, America, and other nations, while its ware- 



238 



TRADE AND TRAVELS 



houses on shore are filled with the manufactures of 
those countries, brought here direct from the places 
where they are produced, to be distributed to the dif- 
ferent Chinese ports recently opened to the commerce 
of the world by the arms of Great Britain. Hundreds, 
nay, thousands of Chinese boatmen, fishermen, por- 
ters, bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, 
tailors, bakers, shopkeepers, &c, are already earning 
their bread here. Since the ratification of Sir Henry 
Pottingers Treaty, and the confirmation of the ces- 
sion of the Island as part and parcel of the 
dominions of Queen Victoria, many wealthy Chinese 
merchants have been making arrangements for the 
establishment of branch-houses here ; and more than 
one of them had, previously to my departure last 
March, chartered British ships, and despatched them 
to the northern ports, loaded with British goods. As 
a depot for goods intended for the Chinese market, I 
conceive the situation of Hong Kong to be unrivalled, 
and, in this single point of view, of great importance. 
On the arrival of a ship from London, Liverpool, or 
Glasgow, with a general cargo of British goods, the 
consignees unload them, and send the ship home 
again with tea or such other produce as they may 
have ready for her, storing and holding the goods in 
readiness for any opening that may present itself : 
such portion of them as may be suited for markets 
in the immediate vicinity, are either sold on the 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



239 



spot, or sent to Canton, while the rest is shipped off 
in fast-sailing vessels, kept for the purpose of making 
sure of their voyage against the monsoon, to Amoy, 
Chusan, and other ports to the northward. 

Great complaints used to be made at Canton and 
Macao, because goods could not be landed, unless 
they were sold, or the consignees chose to advance 
the duty, and let the articles lie till an opportunity of 
disposing of them occurred : in other words, the want 
of a bonding system was universally felt and com- 
plained of. The establishment of Hong Kong com- 
pletely obviates this inconvenience, and enables the 
ship from Great Britain or elsewhere to dispose of 
her cargo in a few days after her arrival, and pro- 
ceed home again, thus saving time, expense, and 
trouble to an incalculable extent. 

A decisive proof of the eligibility of Hong Kong 
as a place of trade, and of its importance in the eyes 
of the Chinese themselves, is afforded by the im- 
mense sums paid by some of them for ground on 
which to build Hongs, where they can deposit their 
goods with safety, beyond the reach of their grasping 
Mandarins. This advantage to a China-man is 
something so new, and so far beyond any thing he 
ever dreamed of enjoying, that I conceive the benefits 
likely to accrue from it to Hong Kong to be incal- 
culable. 

Goods stored in Canton or Macao, the property of 



240 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



a China-man, were never safe in the event of their 
owner getting into trouble with the Chinese Autho- 
rities ; and, if the property of foreigners, they could 
not be insured against fire, the risk arising from the 
universal carelessness of the Chinese, and the conse- 
quent very frequent occurrence of extensive conflagra- 
tions, being considered too great by the underwriters. 
Both these difficulties are completely obviated in 
Hong Kong ; and every substantially built house and 
warehouse, together with the property in them, were 
insured against fire, previously to my quitting the 
Island. One China-man had, in March last, com- 
pleted buildings for the storage of property collected 
from the different ports on the coast, on which up- 
wards of 40,000 dollars had been laid out; and what 
is more, they were already well filled. 

As a convenient and safe depdt for opium, (a 
trade, in my opinion, quite as legitimate and ho- 
nourable as that in brandy, gin, and other spirits,) 
Hong Kong is admirably situated: the purchaser 
from the western ports, as well as from the north- 
eastern, finds the distance he has to travel mode- 
rate, and, on his arrival, has no one to dread, no 
Mandarin daring to shew his face on shore. The 
ships that bring the drug from India, here find a safe 
and commodious harbour, where they can unload 
their cargoes in open day, without hinderance or 
molestation, and where they are not driven to the 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



241 



necessity of carrying on their operations in the 
dark. Were the opium-trade actually one of mere 
smuggling, I would be as ready as any one to con- 
demn it, and to raise my voice against those con- 
cerned in it; but when one considers that not a 
hundredth part of the quantity sold annually is really 
smuggled, — that ninety-nine chests out of every 
hundred pay a heavy duty, (mis-called a bribe,) — that 
the Chinese Government derives from it indirectly, 
but not the less certainly, a very considerable re- 
venue, — and finally, that large quantities of it are 
known to be consumed within the walls of the im- 
perial palace at Pekin, — I confess I see no reason for 
the clamorous indignation with which this traffic 
has of late been assailed by European moralists. I 
have said, that the Chinese Government derives a 
considerable revenue from the opium trade ; and I 
will prove it. A Mandarin who pays for his situa- 
tion, and is left to make the most of it by squeezing 
the inhabitants of his district, will give a great deal 
more for an appointment where an extensive opium- 
trade is carried on, than he would for any other. Know- 
ing the handsome sums paid by the dealers in the 
drug, to " make Mandarin shut eye," he hesitates not 
for a moment about paying his Imperial Master in 
proportion for the situation which puts him in the 
way of reaping so rich a harvest. What is more ; 
his said Imperial Master knows perfectly well what 

M 



242 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



makes the situations in certain districts so much 
coveted, and enables the parties to pay so high 
for them. Away, then, with all the mawkish 
cant about corrupting the morals and ruining the 
health of the Chinese by selling them poison ! The 
Chinese are just as capable of taking care of them- 
selves as their would-be guardians are ; and as for 
their morals, many of them lead lives that might be 
copied with advantage to themselves and families, by 
thousands of gin-drinking Englishmen. China is 
decidedly an over-populated country. Opium-smok- 
ing checks the increase, and thereby does good ; a 
view of the question not altogether unworthy of 
attention. Checking the increase of population in 
this way is, at all events, better than adopting the 
plan of drowning female infants ; not an uncommon 
one in China. 

The importance of Hong Kong in the event of 
another Chinese war, (an event, in the opinion of 
many, not very improbable,) cannot, I conceive, for a 
moment be doubted. Should our merchants again 
be expelled from the ports of China, they will here 
find a safe asylum for their persons and property, 
while their ships may ride in the harbour under the 
protection of two or three of Her Majesty's ships in 
perfect security, in defiance of all the marine of China. 
Here also Her Majesty's Government may have 
depots of military stores, provisions, coals, &c, all 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



243 



stored in perfect safety, in place of being kept, as 
they were during the late war, in transports hired at 
an enormous expense for the purpose. Now that 
passages along the coast of China are made, even by 
sailing vessels, at all seasons of the year, in defiance 
of monsoons, a steamer sent from the seat of war 
(wherever it might be) to Hong Kong, would be suf- 
ficient, at any time, to procure ample supplies of 
money, ammunition, and other stores for the army, 
from India, if need be, in a few weeks. Every one at 
all acquainted with the inconvenience and expense 
suffered by the late Expedition for want of proper 
and regular supplies, will appreciate the value of the 
Island in this point of view. What was it that carried 
off so many of the Cameronians and Royal Irish 
stationed in Chusan during the first expedition to the 
North? Not the climate of that beautiful island, 
certainly ; for the troops that have since occupied it, 
have been remarkably healthy ; and I saw four hun- 
dred of them land at Hong Kong, en route to Eng- 
land, much against their will, looking as rosy and 
stout as if they had just come from home ! What 
occasioned the mortality among the troops, was, the 
want of a depot from which they could obtain sup- 
plies to replace the putrid, ill-cured Calcutta beef and 
other unwholesome stores that were served out to 
convalescents, who died by hundreds for want of 
nourishing food to restore their exhausted frames. 
m 2 



244 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



The diseases from which those unfortunate soldiers 
suffered, were originally contracted from improper 
food and bad accommodation ; and all this took place 
on a Chinese island overrun with cattle, pigs, and 
poultry, and with the town of Ting Hae, deserted by 
nine-tenths of its inhabitants, under their feet. The 
Commander-in-Chief's over-scrupulous conscience 
would neither allow the cattle to be purchased, nor 
the empty houses in the town to be occupied by the 
sick and dying. No better stores were to be had 
nearer than Calcutta, — a six months' trip to and fro ! 
So bad were the beef and pork, that I afterwards saw 
hundreds of casks of both sold by public auction at 
Singapore, for three quarters of a dollar (3s. 4|d) 
per cask. The meat was used for manure, and the 
barrels were used for firewood. The possession of 
Hong Kong will prevent the possible recurrence of 
any thing of this kind. 

I am not prepared to say that Chusan would not 
have been a better situation for a military depot 
than Hong Kong. Her Majesty's Government, how- 
ever, thought proper to prohibit the permanent occu- 
pation of the former, while that of the latter was 
sanctioned, so that we have now no choice. For 
mercantile purposes, the absolute and permanent 
possession of both these islands would have been 
highly advantageous. Chusan, I have never had the 
good fortune to visit, but have invariably heard it 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



245 



spoken of as a delightful place, in a high state of 
cultivation, possessing an extensive commerce, with 
fine harbours, and, lastly, with a numerous popula- 
tion already made acquainted with the difference 
between living under a free and enlightened Govern- 
ment and under that of a despot. These people (if one 
can credit even half of what one hears from them) 
are, one and all, anxious that Great Britain should 
retain their island, and seem to dread the day, now fast 
approaching, when, according to the Treaty, it must be 
evacuated by the British, consigning them again to the 
tender mercies of the Celestial Mandarins. Several 
English merchants have erected warehouses on 
Chusan, in the hope that it will ultimately be retained 
by Great Britain, or that the Chinese Authorities 
will not object to their remaining on the Island sub- 
sequently to its restoration to their Imperial Master. 
I hope that their expectations may not prove fal- 
lacious. 

Hong Kong is a free port, and, in my opinion, 
ought never to be otherwise than free. Let its 
harbour be a refuge for the shipping of all nations, 
and its stores will then be filled with their goods. 
I would not encumber the commerce of this Island 
with one single dollar of charges: no port- charges 
ought for a moment to be thought of; and, as for 
import and export duties, the most moderate charges 
of this kind would ruin the place. What brought 



246 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Singapore forward so rapidly, was, the entire free- 
dom of its trade. If Hong Kong is but treated in 
the same way, its progress will be, if possible, still 
more rapid than that of its sister settlement. 

A revenue more than sufficient to remunerate 
Government for the annual expenses of Hong Kong, 
may be raised on the spot, without hampering its 
commerce, by taxing the retail opium-trade, the re- 
tail spirit-trade, carriages and horses, licensed gam- 
bling-houses, rents from public markets, ground-rent 
on building and other lots, and an assessment on rents, 
say of five per cent. The revenue derived from such 
sources in Singapore, is cheerfully paid, and it more 
than pays the expenses of the place. That all the 
houses in which opium is smoked, spirits are drunk, 
and gambling is carried on, should be under a strict 
surveillance, is absolutely necessary. To check either 
the one or the other, is impossible ; and, as they are 
legitimate objects for taxation, I see no reason why 
Government should not derive benefit from them. 
The opium-smoker and the rum- drinker pay as 
much for the indulgence of their appetites, under 
existing circumstances, as they would do, were the 
privilege of supplying them farmed out to indivi- 
duals, who would be responsible to the Authorities 
for the good conduct of their establishments. 

I should advocate the suppression of gambling- 
houses in toto, did I not know the utter impossibi- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



247 



lity of effecting this among either a Chinese or a 
Malay population. As their existence, then, must 
be tolerated, and as they are, to my certain know- 
ledge, the scene of robbery and murder, much more 
frequently than persons unacquainted with the cri- 
minal calendars in our Asiatic courts of justice sup- 
pose, I say, let them be registered, taxed, and made 
subject to the visits of the police at any hour of the 
night or day. By the means I have pointed out, a 
revenue amply sufficient for the purposes of the 
Hong Kong Government might be raised; and I 
should have no hesitation in undertaking to defray 
every fraction of its expenditure, had I the privilege 
of farming the opium-tax and the spirit- tax. 

Of the climate of Hong Kong, I have little that is 
favourable to report. Hitherto, it has been decidedly 
inimical to the European constitution ; and hundreds 
of our countrymen are already buried there. Last 
summer (1843), from the first of August till the end 
of October, a very malignant fever raged among all 
ranks, and carried off soldiers, sailors, Government 
servants, mercantile men, and tradesmen. There 
were some peculiarities attendant upon this fever, 
however, which I shall mention, in the hope that 
my observations may lead future residents to be a 
little more careful of their health, than most of the 
present inhabitants have shewn themselves to be. 
In the first place, then, the fever, with few excep- 



248 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



tions, was limited to particular localities. Secondly, 
not one European female died of it, and only two 
suffered from it severely. Thirdly, those who occu- 
pied spacious upper-roomed, well-aired houses, almost 
to a man escaped. Fourthly, those who exposed 
themselves to the sun, suffered most. And, lastly, 
the new comer from Europe was more subject to 
take this terrible fever, which the medical men cha- 
racterize as a mixture of the yellow fever of the 
West and the bilious fever of the East Indies. 

A stranger landing in Hong Kong, particularly if 
coming from many parts of India, and acquainted 
generally with tropical countries and climates, would 
naturally, on hearing of its insalubrious climate, 
express surprise, since he could see no exciting cause. 
I have stated, that the fever attached itself to parti- 
cular localities. These were, the eastern and western 
extremes of the town of Victoria. At the eastern 
end, to the eye the most delightful spot in or near 
the town, there are several patches of paddy-fields, 
situated in deep valleys between the hills, of limited 
extent, but which, under thi^ climate, seem to gene- 
rate malaria in quantities quite disproportionate to 
their size. In the morning, these valleys may be 
seen, from the middle of the town, completely filled 
with a dense fog, which rolls down from the neigh- 
bouring heights immediately after sun-set, settles 
upon them all night, and does not clear off till nine 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



249 



or ten o'clock in the morning. I know of no other 
reason why this neighbourhood should be unhealthy : 
that it proved so last summer, the number of its 
victims sufficiently testify. Of six gentlemen who 
took up their quarters here, five died ; and the other 
had a very severe attack of fever, from which he 
ultimately recovered.* 

The land at the western extremity of the town is 
swampy, the grass, even on the declivities, being of 
a rank, spongy nature, and quite unfit for any thing. 
Here the Government built barracks, in which a 
detachment of Her Majesty's 55th regiment w r as for 
some time quartered : its ranks were decimated by 
fever, which latterly became so virulent, that the 
Authorities chartered shipping in the harbour, to re- 
ceive the men still alive. Unfortunately, the poor 
fellows, being weakened from the effects of the 
summer, and having in all probability the seeds of 
disease in them before they embarked, died afloat in 
great numbers. It has been thought, that many 
lives might have been saved at West Point Barracks, 
had that building been raised off the ground so as to 

* Since these remarks were penned, another summer has passed 
over Hong Kong. Sickness and death have again prevailed there to 
an unusual extent, and the neighbourhood just mentioned had its 
victims ; amongst others, two English ladies whose husbands I had 
cautioned, in March 1844, respecting the spot they were taking their 
families to reside upon. The last mail from the East continues the 
outcry against the climate. 

M 3 



250 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



admit a free circulation of air under the rooms. 
This, however, is but problematical, as the deaths 
at the other end of the town took place in two- 
storied houses. 

From what I observed at West Point, there appears 
to be a constant drain of water down the hills, 
about six inches under the surface of the soil. This 
water settles under improperly ventilated houses, 
rots the beams, and throws up a crop of mildew in 
every room, as I can testify from actual observation. 

That no European female has fallen a victim to 
this fever, is certainly a remarkable feature in its 
history; but it must be borne in mind, that there 
were no ladies residing in the immediate neighbour- 
hood of the two localities just mentioned. Perhaps, 
the Morrison Education Hill may be an exception, 
where two families passed last summer. None of 
the females suffered a day's illness, though a young 
man living in the house, who was occasionally ex- 
posed to the sun, caught the fever and died. 

I have no doubt, (and I have heard others express 
a similar opinion,) that regular habits and non-expo- 
sure to the sun, are the principal causes to which 
those Europeans who have escaped illness when their 
friends and neighbours have sickened round them, 
owe their preservation. The occupants of spacious, 
two-storied, well-aired houses escaped, with only a 
single exception, in the case of a young man who 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



251 



probably brought on his illness by imprudent expo- 
sure to the sun for hours together, although he 
was repeatedly warned of the consequences. 1 know 
several instances of families passing last summer in 
houses of this description without any interruption 
of health. My own household was composed of two 
ladies, three children, myself, and a European fe- 
male attendant : not one of us had an hour's illness 
during all the hot weather ; yet we took no further 
care of ourselves than is customary with people who 
nave resided for several years within the tropics. 

That exposure to the sun in that zone is uniformly 
prejudicial to the health of Europeans, does not 
admit of a question; but, in China, the sun's rays 
seem to exert a more injurious effect than in most 
other places I have visited. The residents in Hong 
Kong, it is true, were somewhat careless in the 
matter. Few, if any of them were provided with 
carriages or other conveyance to protect them from 
it when business called them abroad during the day ; 
and it was quite common to see them moving about, 
on foot and on horseback, with no other precaution 
than an umbrella carried over the head, in spite of 
the daily examples of parties suffering from such 
imprudence. 

The number of European inhabitants in Hong 
Kong will this summer (1844) be trebled by the 
removal of most of the merchants from Macao ; and 



252 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



the general health of the place will be anxiously 
watched. Should it prove as bad as last summer, 
(which God forbid,) it will drive many people away, 
and injure the settlement irreparably. The prejudi- 
cial effects of going into the sun might be avoided, 
almost entirely, even by men of business, were they 
to adopt the Calcutta system of note- writing. There, 
a merchant seldom or never moves from his office ; 
and when he does, it is in a covered vehicle. Let 
the Hong Kong residents follow their example, and 
their numbers will not be thinned as they have 
hitherto been. 

That the European fresh from home, full-blooded, 
and in robust health, should be more liable to fever 
than his acclimated countrymen, is not to be won- 
dered at ; but many of the new comers might escape 
disease by common prudence. Confident in their 
strength of constitution, and wearied with a long 
confinement on ship-board, they sally forth, day by 
day, to take a walk, just as they would in England, 
heedless of the fierce luminary that is pouring his 
rays on their exposed heads, and bent only on 
amusement or variety. A week of such folly (to 
call it by no stronger name) has sufficed to bring 
many a youth to a premature grave. 

The weather begins to grow warm in China 
(I speak of Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton) about 
the middle of April ; in June, it is oppressively hot ; 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



253 



and during the following three months, which are 
the most unhealthy, the thermometer in the shade 
ranges from 85° to 90°. This is a degree of heat that 
ought not to be much felt by experienced Indians ; 
and in Java, or in the Straits of Malacca, I should 
not complain of it; but there is a peculiarity, an 
oppressiveness, in the heat of China, that makes 
even respiration difficult, and excites such copious 
perspiration as to weaken the frame. In October, 
the weather becomes cooler, and, for the next five 
months, is sufficiently cold to render fires a comfort 
morning and evening ; and occasionally during the 
whole day. Were it not for their winter, I know 
not what would become of the European residents in 
China : this season braces them up for the coming 
summer, and, in short, saves their lives. 

The progress made in Hong Kong since its occu- 
pation as a British Colony, is astonishing, and per- 
haps unsurpassed in the history of civilization. 
Owing to the peculiar features of the locality in 
which Victoria stands, that town has been extended 
along the beach, till it is now upward of four miles 
long, with three short streets extending a little way 
up the hills about its centre. The Queens road 
extends along the beach the whole of this length, and 
has been cut with great labour and expense. The 
lots between this road and low-water mark are con- 
sidered as the best for mercantile purposes, and are 



254 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



nearly all in the possession of mercantile men, who 
have built, in most cases, handsome warehouses with 
dwelling-houses above. There are, however, some 
exceptions, a portion of the ground being occupied 
by Chinese shopkeepers, who inhabit low ill-built 
houses, which, as ground with water-frontage be- 
comes more valuable, will have to give way to better 
buildings, raised by a higher class, who will buy out 
the present occupants. The lots on the south side of 
Queen's Road are not so valuable as those opposite ; 
nevertheless, they are nearly all in the possession of 
monied men, who will before long find it to their 
advantage to level the many wretched buildings that 
now disfigure the road, and to erect houses worthy 
of a town bearing the royal name. 

On my departure from the Island, building was 
going forward in all directions, notwithstanding the 
somewhat illiberal terms on which alone lots were 
obtainable ; and I have no doubt that, by this time, 
many smiling cottages adorn the hills in and near 
the town, while more stately buildings rear their 
prouder elevation on the level below. 

House-rent, as might be expected, is very high, 
and will probably continue so for ten years to come. 
It took that time to reduce the rents in Singapore ; 
and as I expect that Hong Kong will become a place 
of still greater trade, and attract a larger European 
population than the Straits' 1 settlement, I see no 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



255 



reason that the owner of property in houses there 
should not look for a handsome return for his outlay 
for ten years, and for a fair remunerating price at the 
expiration of that time. Something like a hundred 
per cent, per annum has been got for the small 
houses occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, while 
twenty-five, thirty, and even forty per cent, is a 
common return for substantially-built warehouses. 

Some idea of the rapid progress which this settle- 
ment has made, may be formed by the reader, when 
I state, that one firm had laid out upw r ards of 40,000/. 
sterling in building, and was still laying out more, 
when I quitted it. This is, certainly, by far the 
largest expenditure that has been made by any single 
establishment: but many others have spent from 
6000/. to 10,000/. in a similar way ; and the outlay by 
individuals on speculation, is by no means inconsi- 
derable. 

The Chinese population of Victoria and the neigh- 
bourhood amounted, last January, to ten thousand 
souls ; certainly not the choicest collection that could 
be w T ished, as the number of robberies that take 
place in and about the town sufficiently testify. This 
evil the magistrates were, however, doing their best 
to remedy ; and some scores of idle vagabonds had 
been sent across the Channel dividing the Island from 
the main land of China. Some of the chiefs of the 
robber-gangs had been apprehended and set to work 



256 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



on the roads, in irons; a proceeding that alarmed 
their confederates not a little. * 

The general appearance of Hong Kong, from the 
sea, is picturesque and curious. That part of the 
Island on which the town is situated, is hilly, and, with 
the exception of the few paddy-fields already men- 
tioned, presents no level space on which to build. 
The hills stretch completely down to the sea ; and 

* An account of the capture of two of these scamps was given to 
me by the chief magistrate, the day before I left Victoria, and was 
to the following effect : — A China-man in the pay of the police, though 
never seen by any magistrate, came to the police compradore's 
house one evening, and said : " If you will send two European con- 
stables to a certain spot (which he named ) at nine o'clock to night, 
I will shew them where they will find two robber-chiefs smoking 
opium and looking over their gains." This hint was immediately 
communicated to the chief magistrate, who at once resolved to act 
upon it, and sent the constables to the spot indicated. There, the 
spy met them, masked, and made signs for them to be silent and 
follow him. He guided them down past West Point upwards of a 
mile, when he turned up the hill by a footpath, which, in half an 
hour, brought the party to a small hut, through the crevices in the 
wall of which a light was visible. To the door of this hut, the guide 
significantly pointed, and instantly disappeared without uttering a 
word. The constables took the hint, and burst the door open, when 
they found what they had been led to expect ; two men smoking 
opium, the room almost full of European clothing and other stolen 
property, quite sufficient to convict the smokers of unfair play to- 
wards the late owners of it. These men were of course secured ; 
and the day I sailed from Hong Kong, I saw them at work on the 
roads in irons. Their apprehension caused a complete cessation of 
robberies for the time being, the sight of the noted chiefs on the 
roads having terrified their followers. 



IN THE PAR EAST. 



257 



Queen's Road has been formed by cutting away their 
projecting spurs, throwing the earth into the sea in 
front, filling up the gaps on each side the spur, and 
thus forming a long strip of level. Above the level 
of Queen's Road, many terraces have been cut in the 
hills, upon which private dwellings have been 
perched ; and to a person sailing into the harbour, 
these look suspended on the hill side, and inaccessi- 
ble. To speak the truth, the approaches to them are 
not the most practicable ; particularly in rainy wea- 
ther, when, from the clayey nature of the soil, they 
become extremely slippery. Several water-courses 
descend from these hills, forming miniature ravines 
and a few water-falls, which have a pretty effect 
after a day's rain. They occasionally wash away an 
ill-built house ; but this is the fault of the clumsy 
and foolish builders. 

Many of these hills are covered with a hard, tough, 
useless sort of whinstone, which adds considerably to 
the expense of building on them. Others are well 
stocked with granite, which the Chinese masons split 
very neatly into any shape, by driving innumerable 
wedges into the blocks. The adroitness with which 
they do this, is quite surprising. The China pine 
(or fir) grows all over Hong Kong ; but the young 
trees no sooner attain the height of two or three feet, 
than they are cut down by the natives, and carried 
off in bundles to clean the bottoms of the countless 



258 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



boats that ply about the harbour. Thus, with one 
or two exceptions, these hills are quite bare, and, 
in winter more particularly, exhibit any thing but 
a lively spectacle. In summer, their green 
covering of coarse grass improves their appear- 
ance. 

The only thing that reconciles one to the site 
chosen for building the town of Victoria, is its beau- 
tiful harbour : in every other respect, the choice was 
decidedly bad. A more awkward place on which to 
erect a town, could not have been fixed upon ; and 
its northern aspect adds, 1^ suspect, to the unheal thi- 
ness of the place, as it exposes the town to the cold 
winds of winter, and completely shuts out the 
southerly breezes of summer, which are so much 
wanted to refresh the worn-out colonist. There are 
situations in the Island much more eligible for a 
town, but their harbours are exposed, so that, when 
we consider how well the shipping are protected in 
Victoria bay, we feel disposed to allow that a better 
choice could not have been made under all the cir- 
cumstances. 

The market of Hong Kong is well supplied with 
fish, flesh, and fowl, vegetables, fruit, and game ; and 
those who choose to take the trouble of seeing to it 
themselves, may obtain supplies on reasonable terms : 
those who leave these matters to their servants, are 
of course robbed, and are apt, without making any 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



259 



inquiry, to come to the conclusion, that every thing 
here is dear. The retail price of every sort of pro- 
visions is pasted up on the market-gate, once a week, 
by authority of the magistrates, in Chinese and 
English characters; so that the exorbitant rates 
charged by compradores may be easily detected and 
put a stop to. Chinese boats of all descriptions, sizes, 
and sorts may be hired at every wharf, at any hour 
from daylight till eight at night : their moving about 
after that hour, is prohibited by the Authorities, who 
had strong reason to suspect their being connected 
with the gangs of robbers that occasionally land 
from the opposite shore, commit some daring rob- 
bery, and disappear again before daylight. 

When the fleet of men of war and transports ar- 
rived here, from the North, in October 1842, the 
troops, amounting to upwards of fifteen thousand, 
were regularly supplied, during their stay in the 
harbour of Victoria, with fresh provisions, eggs, 
&c. ; and no rise of prices took place. On the 
departure of the fleet, the daily supply was reduced 
by the Chinese to just sufficient for the consumption 
of the place. No portion of the supplies for the 
market is produced on the Island: the whole is 
brought from the innumerable creek and river-banks 
in the neighbourhood. It is to be hoped that this 
state of things will, before long, be altered, since, as 
matters now stand, the Cow Loon Authorities could, 



260 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



at any time, deprive the inhabitants of Hong Kong 
of their daily bread. 

American, French, and English Missionaries are 
already congregated in this infant settlement. The 
first have built a neat little chapel, where Divine 
service is performed every Sunday morning in the 
Presbyterian form, and, in the evening, in Chinese. 
The French Roman Catholics have built a stately and 
handsome chapel with a good dwelling-house at- 
tached to it : they have a large congregation among the 
Irish soldiery and the Portuguese from Macao. The 
English Missionaries had only just arrived with their 
establishment from Malacca, and, when I left the 
Island, had neither house nor chapel, but had com- 
menced building. A chaplain of the Church of Eng- 
land had arrived, appointed by the Home Govern- 
ment: no English church, however, had even been 
commenced, and the congregation meet every Sun- 
day in a neat house, where, if they escape fever 
during the summer, and colds and ague during the 
winter, they ought to deem themselves very fortu- 
nate. 

Grog-shops and other resorts for the depraved and 
idle, are already plentiful in Victoria. They are, 
however, all closed on Sunday; and the sailor a- 
shore, on liberty on that day, is fain to content him- 
self with a walk along the road, during which he may 
be heard muttering deep curses on the heads of those 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



261 



who framed this (according to his notion) unjust and 
tyrannical regulation. 

Before concluding my remarks on Hong Kong, I 
will add a few words on what I consider as the best 
means to be adopted with a view to render the settle- 
ment more healthy. Much must be done by the 
Government ; and the rest may be left to the inhabi- 
tants themselves. 

In the first place, the paddy-fields at the east end of 
the town must be thoroughly drained, and the cultiva- 
tion of paddy in the neighbourhood entirely stopped. 
Proclamations on this last subject had been published 
in March last. That the draining of these lands 
would decrease the quantity of malaria generated in 
the valleys, there can be no doubt ; but, that it would 
entirely do away with it, I deem very problematical. 
At all events, it would not stop the volumes of fog 
that descend from the hill-tops at sun-set, and com- 
pletely envelop the valleys and the houses. Drain- 
ing, indeed, would do good, and ought to be tried at 
once. The owners of property in the neighbourhood 
were very sanguine as to the result of the experiment. 
More good, however, would be done in the way of 
purifying the air of these valleys, by entirely re- 
moving the small hill on which the Morrison Educa- 
tion buildings stand. The task, at first sight, may 
seem herculean ; but is not so in reality. Thousands 
of men are to be hired in the villages on the oppo- 



262 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



site coast, who would gladly work for three dollars 
(13s. 6d.) per month. Were a couple of thousand 
of these put upon this job for a twelvemonth, there 
would not be much of the hill left. The pecuniary 
outlay would be considerable ; but the returns would 
do much more than pay the interest on it. The base 
of the hill itself is of considerable extent ; and the 
earth carried from its top, if thrown into the sea at 
its foot, would create a large level space for building, 
that would yield quit-rent enough to render the 
speculation (were the work undertaken by private 
individuals) a highly profitable one. This hill com- 
pletely shuts up the largest of the paddy-growing val- 
leys ; and its removal would admit into it the easterly 
and northerly breezes, which might do more than any 
thing else towards preventing the descent of the fog. 

There are other hills, near the one alluded to, that 
might be levelled with great advantage to the neigh- 
bourhood, as well as to the parties who might under- 
take the task. In this case, there are individuals 
ready to execute the work on their own private 
account, who actually made offers to the Govern- 
ment on the subject ; but their terms were rejected 
by the Authorities, and the hills remain in statu quo. 
The sea being very shallow at the base of these hills, 
the space filled up by cutting them down, would be 
very considerable, and the task by no means difficult. 
Sir Stamford Raffles removed one at Singapore, in 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



263 



size equal to the one known in Hong Kong as 
Leigh ton's Hill, without incurring a shilling of ex- 
pense to his Government. To the parties who 
removed the soil, he gave the ground they had made, 
charging them the same quit-rent that others paid 
on the grants made to them. 

At West Point, draining seems to be the only plan 
that can be recommended to render the situation 
more salubrious. Neither there nor any where else 
in the Colony, is it safe to reside in houses having 
only a ground-floor. Of those who have done so, 
few have escaped the fever; and still fewer of those 
who caught it, recovered. Draining upon a large 
scale, is the part of the w T ork I would leave to the 
Government : upon the inhabitants, I would impose 
the task of making proper sewers all over the town. 
The few that existed there last summer, were not 
simply a disgrace to every person connected with 
the place, but tended in no small degree to thin the 
population by the abominable effluvia they threw 
out. In the immediate vicinity of every house or 
shop belonging to the Chinese, might be seen a col- 
lection of impurities sufficient to create a pestilence 
anywhere, much more in a place with the ther- 
mometer frequently above 90° in the shade. The 
assessment of five per cent, on all rents, would create 
a fund sufficient to purify the town, to keep it clean, 
to provide a regular scavengers' establishment, and, 



264 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



moreover, to pay night watchmen to protect the 
property of its inhabitants from the gangs of rob- 
bers that infest the place. Were these suggestions 
carried out, if the citizens of Victoria were but 
careful to avoid the sun, and if not a few would but 
reduce by one-half their allowance of brandy-and- 
water and cigars, I will venture to predict, that the 
medical men of the place would have a comparative 
sinecure. 

Among other arrivals in Hong Kong during the 
year 1843, were some fifty or sixty emigrants from 
Sydney, (N. S. Wales,) consisting of mechanics of 
different descriptions. They alleged, that the bad 
times in Australia had driven them away. Poor 
fellows ! I fear they have made a sad mistake in the 
change they have sought. Here, they will find 
times, for persons of their class, worse than those 
they have had to complain of, a climate to contend 
against, from which they have not the means of 
protecting themselves, and hundreds of Chinese arti- 
sans, who can afford to work for less than half what 
they can live upon. Most of them were badly 
housed ; and it was to be feared, that the end of 
summer will see very many of their number in 
their graves. 

The colonists of New South Wales appear to have 
formed the most extravagant ideas of the benefit 
they are to derive from the new settlement of Hong 



7 



IN THE FAR EAST. 265 

Kong. With the exception of salt provisions, I know 
of nothing they can send to the new settlement with 
even a chance of profit ; and the prices of these 
must be lower than those ruling in Sydney by the 
last accounts, to yield a profit. Some small lots of 
timber have been found to answer ; but the demand 
for this article will cease, when the buildings now in 
progress in Victoria shall have been completed. 
Cattle, horses, and sheep have been tried, and the 
experiment has proved an utter failure. 



N 



266 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CHINA. 

FIRST VIEW OF CANTON DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN 

QUARTER HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE — COM- 
MERCIAL PROSPECTS OF CANTON — AMOY FOO CHOW — 

NINGPO SHANG-HAE MR. MEDHURST — RESULTS OF 

THE TREATY WITH CHINA. 

The sail from Hong Kong to Canton is very inter- 
esting, particularly to a stranger. The numerous 
islands he passes, and the entirely new scenes that 
everywhere attract his eye, cannot fail to delight 
and amuse him. Here, the unwieldy Chinese junk ; 
there, the fast-sailing Chinese passage-boat ; now and 
then, the long snake-like opium-smuggler with his 
fifty oars; innumerable fishing-boats, all in pairs, 
with a drag-net extended from the one to the other ; 
country boats of all descriptions passing to and fro, 
their crews all bent on money-getting, yet, never 
failing to cast a glance of mingled contempt and 
scorn at the " Fan qui " ; the duck-boats on the river 
banks, their numerous tenants feeding in the adja- 



IX THE FAR EAST. 



267 



cent rice-fields ; a succession of little Chinese villages, 
with groupes of young Celestials staring at him 
with never-ending: wonder; here and there, a tall 
pagoda rearing its lofty head high above the sur- 
rounding scenery, as if conscious of its great anti- 
quity and of the sacred objects for which it was 
built ; the Chinese husbandman with his one-handed 
plough, drawn by a single wild-looking buffalo ; 
smiling cottages, surrounded with orange and other 
fruit-trees ; the immense fleet of foreign ships an- 
chored at Whampoa; — these and a thousand other 
objects, all equally strange and new, attract the 
attention of the stranger as he sails up the "Quang 
Tung" river. On nearing the city itself, he is still 
more astonished and pleased with the sights that 
literally confuse his ideas, making the whole scene 
to seem the creation of magic, rather than sober 
reality. Here, the river is absolutely crowded with 
junks and boats of all sorts and sizes, from the ferry- 
boat of six feet long, to the ferry-boat of a thousand 
tons burthen. Long rows of houses, inhabited prin- 
cipally by boat-builders and others connected with 
maritime affairs, and built on the river, line its 
right bank. Outside of these, are moored numerous 
flat-bottomed boats with high roofs : these come 
from the Interior with tea and other produce, and 
resemble what I fancy Noah's Ark must have been, 
more than anv thing I have seen elsewhere. On the 

N 2 



268 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



left bank, the shore is lined with boats unloading and 
loading cargoes, while the different landing-places are 
completely blocked up with ferry-boats seeking em- 
ployment. The space in the centre of the river, is 
continually crowded with boats, junks, &c. proceeding 
up and down. The scene altogether is bewildering 
to the stranger. Busy as the scene is, which the 
Thames presents at London, its superior regularity 
and order, in my opinion, prevent its coming up to 
the scene I have just faintly traced, in the strange 
and excited feelings it calls up. Amidst all this, 
there is a constant clatter of tongues strongly re- 
calling the confusion of Babel. A China-man never 
talks below his breath ; and, if one may judge from 
the loud tones in which the whole community express 
their sentiments, whether in a house or shop or in 
the street, the only conclusion that can be come to 
is, that, in China, the word secret is not understood, 
or rather, that the idea corresponding to that word 
has no existence in their conceptions. 

Of the immense city itself, the home of a million 
of souls, what account can a traveller give, who has 
seen little more of it than the portion inhabited by 
foreigners? I must say a few words, how T ever, 
about that part of it which I have seen. 

I begin with the foreign factories. These build- 
ings stretch along the left bank of the river about 
three quarters of a mile, (or, rather, they did so, for 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



269 



one half of them have recently been destroyed by 
fire,) and extend back about two hundred yards. 
They are large, substantially built, and comfortable 
houses; but those situated behind the front row, 
must be (indeed I know they are) oppressively hot 
residences in the summer season. The space be- 
tween the factories and the river, is reserved for a 
promenade, where foreigners may take a little recre- 
ation after their day's work. Although but a limited 
space, it is invaluable. Here, in the evening, may 
be seen Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen, Spa- 
niards, Dutchmen, Portuguese, Parsees, Moslem, 
and Hindoos ; all enjoying the evening breeze, and 
talking over the affairs of the day or the news 
brought by the last overland mail, while a crowd of 
Chinese coolies surround the square, gaping with 
noisy wonder at the strangers attired in all the cos- 
tumes of Europe and Asia. The streets principally 
resorted to by foreigners are, China Street (old and 
new) and Carpenter's Square. In the former, a very 
choice collection of Chinese articles may be pur- 
chased, either in the way of curiosities or of valuable 
merchandize. In Carpenter's Square, the new-comer 
may fit himself out with everlasting trunks, dressing- 
cases, &c. ; or, if in search of furniture, he may here, 
in half an hour, furnish his house with well-made, 
substantial articles. The houses in these streets are 
all of two stories, with very narrow frontage, ground 



270 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



being valuable. A large quantity of timber is used 
in their construction, which renders any chance fire 
in this city so very destructive. The streets in 
Canton are all very narrow, most of those I have 
seen not exceeding six or seven feet in width : the 
two China Streets are probably twelve feet wide. 
The city does not cover half the space which a 
European one with the same population would do. 
Its streets, from their want of breadth, always ap- 
pear, and indeed always are crowded; and the 
unwary passenger is very liable to get knocked 
down by some heavily laden porter running against 
him, if he does not keep a sharp look-out. Like 
Macao, it is infested with loathsome beggars, who 
are, if possible, still more clamorous in their de- 
mands for charity than those of that place. Here, 
the stranger will be surprised to see dogs, cats, 
and rats hawked about, dead and alive. I do not 
say that these animals form the daily food of the 
people of Canton, but they are daily and hourly 
hawked about its streets, and purchased by the 
poorer classes. The Canton market is, nevertheless, 
remarkably well supplied with the good things of 
this life ; and the European who cannot live and be 
contented with the provisions procurable in it, must 
be hard to please. By nine o'clock at night, this 
huge city is perfectly quiet, and nine-tenths of its 
inhabitants are wrapped in sleep. At either end of 



IN THE FAR EAST, 



271 



each street is a gate, which is shut at that hour, and 
ingress or egress put a stop to for the night. This 
regulation, as may be supposed, is an excellent check 
upon night robbers, whose peregrinations can extend 
no further than the end of the street they live in. 
Another equally salutary regulation is that which 
makes the inhabitants of a street responsible for 
each other's good conduct. Thus, if A's servant 
steals any thing from B, A must make good the loss. 
Prowling being put a stop to during the night, I 
have seen robberies attempted and detected during 
the day; and I certainly never saw a poor thief 
treated elsewhere with such unrelenting cruelty. A 
China-man seems to have no mercy for a thief ; 
nor is this feeling to be wondered at in an over- 
peopled country, where all have to work for their 
bread, and where idlers are sure to starve. Du- 
ring the winter, in Canton, the lower classes 
suffer severely from cold : they are poorly fed and 
worse clothed : and hundreds of them may be seen 
about the streets, shivering and looking the very 
picture of absolute wretchedness. Amongst these, a 
few old women may be seen sitting by the side of 
the streets, earning a scanty subsistence by mending 
and patching the clothes of people as poor as them- 
selves. These poor women, having all undergone 
the barbarous operation of cramping the feet during 
infancy, are consequently unable to undertake any 



272 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



thing but sedentary employment to gain their bread. 
The very small size to which the feet of some of the 
Chinese females have been distorted by cramping 
them with bandages during the first six years of 
their lives, is almost beyond belief. I have seen a 
full-grown woman wearing shoes, and walking in 
them too, not more than 3 J inches long. Their walk 
resembles that of a timid boy upon ice ; it is neces- 
sarily slow ; and, indeed, some of them require the aid 
of a staff in one hand, while they lean with the other 
on the shoulder of a female attendant. The smaller 
the eyes and feet of a Chinese beauty, the more she 
is admired. I once asked a respectable China-man, 
what he thought of this custom of cramping their 
daughters' feet : his reply was, " Very bad custom." 
On my inquiring further, whether he had any daugh- 
ters, and whether their feet were treated in the same 
way, he answered in the affirmative, but asserted, that 
they had been subjected to the cruel ordeal by their 
mother, against his will. He added, that, in a China- 
man's house, where there were young girls, no peace 
could be had, night or day, for their cries, which 
lasted till they were six years old. He gave us a 
reason for the mothers insisting on her daughter's 
submitting to this long course of pain and suffer- 
ing: — "Suppose he no small foot, no man wantjee 
make he number one wife." A respectable China- 
man, it appears, always chooses a small-footed 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



273 



woman for his principal wife, while, for Number 
two, three, and four, he contents himself with ladies 
whose feet are as nature made them, and who are 
consequently more able to make themselves useful 
in household matters. 

The inhabitants of Canton and its vicinity have 
displayed, since the war, more hostile feelings to- 
wards Englishmen, than those entertained by the 
natives of any of the northern ports. They still 
affect to believe, that Sir Hugh Gough durst not 
attack their city ; and it is, perhaps, to be regretted, 
that he was hindered from shewing his strength on 
that occasion. Several riots and two extensive fires 
among the foreign factories, have taken place since 
that time ; and it is the opinion of many persons, 
that, before long, Canton will require a lesson such 
as Amoy, Ning-po, and other places have received. 
That the first of the two fires alluded to was the work 
of incendiaries, there is no doubt ; and so well satis- 
fied were the native Authorities upon this point, that 
they made good the losses sustained by foreigners 
on the occasion. 

The proposal to grant land to foreigners in the 
neighbourhood of Canton, for the site of country 
residences, met with so energetic opposition from 
the natives, that the Authorities did not venture to 
carry the plan into execution. Inflammatory pla- 
cards were posted all over the city, calling upon the 
N 3 



274 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



people to protect their ancient rights, and threaten- 
ing extermination to foreigners, and to the local 
Authorities themselves, in the event of their com- 
plying with the petition. It is probable, that the 
wealthy men and others connected with the com- 
merce of Canton, felt that the arrangements then 
pending between Her Majesty's Government and that 
of their Imperial Master regarding the commerce of 
the two countries, would, if completed, affect their 
old privileges and monopoly ; and that they adopted 
the measures above-mentioned in order to shew 
their displeasure. That their commerce will suffer 
in consequence of the arrangements since brought 
to an amicable conclusion, there can be no doubt ; 
but it is not less certain, that Canton will continue to 
be the centre of an extensive trade. Its merchants 
must be content with a share of the loaf, in place of 
monopolizing, as heretofore, the whole. The days of 
Hong merchants and monopoly are at an end; and 
the benefits derived from Free-trade will shortly 
convince all but those connected with the late Hongs, 
that the changes recently effected in the relations of 
the Celestial Empire with other countries, are not 
deserving of the abuse that has been so abundantly 
lavished on them. 

The far-famed Bogue Forts, I observed, in passing 
up the river last March, to be rebuilt in the same 
clumsy style as that of the fortifications which Sir 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



275 



Gordon Bremmer knocked down. As a means of 
defending the river against any thing but Chinese 
junks, they are utterly useless ; and one cannot help 
feeling surprised that so intelligent a people as the 
Chinese did not take a lesson from the perfect ease 
with winch their forts were razed to the ground, and 
build their new ones on a better plan. The scenery 
at the Bogue is very pretty ; and the forts, if of no 
other advantage, form a picturesque feature, viewed 
while sailing past them. 

Not having visited Amoy, Foo Chow, Ning-po, 
Chusan, or Shang-Hae, I am unable to give any de- 
scription of those places. I can, however, state what 
I have heard about them, and give the mercantile 
reader some idea of their importance as places of 
trade. 

Short as is the time that these ports have been 
open to the commerce of Britain and other foreign 
nations, many cargoes of Indian cotton, different 
sorts of produce from Singapore and the islands of 
the Malayan Archipelago, manufactured goods, con- 
sisting of woollens, gray and white shirtings, chintz, 
&c, from Manchester and Glasgow, have been ad- 
vantageously disposed of at one or another of them. 
Amoy has taken off several cargoes of Bengal and 
Bombay cotton, at prices considerably higher than 
those ruling at Canton. This branch of trade is 
likely to increase, and is one that will interfere with 



276 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



Canton to a considerable extent. As a residence, 
however, this place has a bad character in point of 
healthiness : at least, the troops, both European and 
Indian, suffered severely there from fever. They 
were stationed on the island of Koo Loong Soo, 
which is said to be more healthy than Amoy itself. 

None of our merchants had visited Foo Chow, up 
to the time of my departure from China ; nor had a 
Consul been sent there; but this has, I presume, 
since taken place. The city has been described to 
me as large and populous, and the seat of a very ex- 
tensive trade. It escaped the ravages of the late 
war ; and its inhabitants may probably entertain a 
similar idea to that which possesses the people of 
Canton ; namely, that we were afraid to attack them. 
Whether this notion will lead them to give Europeans 
an indifferent reception, or not, remains to be seen. 
Let us hope that they will act wisely in the matter, 
and not bring down vengeance on their own heads. 
Sir William Parker, by visiting their harbour in 
Her Majesty's ship Cornwallis, proved to them 
that they are not beyond the reach of European 
shipping, as they at one time thought. Some diffi- 
culty is experienced, I believe, in approaching Foo 
Chow, owing to the strength of the currents in the 
neighbourhood ; but, as a seventy-four-gun ship has 
got over that difficulty, it is proved to be not an in- 
surmountable one. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



277 



Ning-po is also a large and wealthy city, admirably 
situated for trade, and surrounded with a beautiful 
country. It stands some forty miles from the sea, 
by the river, which is said to be navigable for ships 
of considerable burthen even beyond the town. The 
climate is salubrious, and the natives are quite awake 
to the benefits likely to arise from a free intercourse 
with Europeans. At this port, the first British vessel 
bound for the northern ports of China, from England 
direct, was loading, in March last, with tea and 
other Chinese produce. By how many hundreds she 
will ere long be followed, I leave the reader to ima- 
gine. It is said by those who have visited this port, 
that nothing can exceed the urbanity of the Chinese 
Authorities and merchants, or their anxiety to do all 
in their power to please and entertain European 
strangers. This, doubtless, in part arises from the 
severe lesson that was read them, on more than one 
occasion, by Sir Hugh Gough ; a lesson which, it is 
hoped, they will long remember. An extensive and 
important trade is carried on between this place and 
Chusan, by which means our manufactures will find 
their way into that island, after its ports shall be 
closed against our shipping. Here, Russian manu- 
facturers are met with ; and a friend of mine informed 
me, that, in a Chinese shop at Ning-po, he purchased 
a few yards of superior Russian black broad cloth at 
the very cheap rate of two dollars and a-half (1 Is. 3c?.) 



278 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



per yard. This price seems lower than that at which 
the British manufacturer could produce a similar 
article. Samples of the cloth have been sent to 
England, so that this question will soon be decided. 

Shang-Hae, the most northern of the five ports 
opened to foreign commerce, is, perhaps, the most 
important of the whole five. I have undoubted au- 
thority for asserting, that the number of Chinese 
junks, of more than a hundred tons burthen, that 
enter this port weekly, exceeds a thousand. The 
same authority speaks of the busy scene that this 
harbour daily presents, as quite beyond his powers 
of description. Many British, American, and other 
merchants have visited Shang-Hae since it became 
an open port ; many cargoes of manufactures have 
been disposed of there ; and already a considerable 
export trade on foreign account has commenced. A 
bold attempt was made by some influential and 
wealthy merchants from Canton, to prevent the 
mercantile men of the place from purchasing car- 
goes from the foreigners : in this, they succeeded for 
a time ; and the Canton men were in hopes they 
should secure the northern trade for their own capi- 
tal, as of yore; but they calculated beyond their 
mark. The Shang-Hae men listened to the tales 
that were told them, and kept aloof for some time, 
till they saw that the Europeans were quite deter- 
mined not to leave their harbour without effecting 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



279 



sales. Suddenly they changed their minds, and said 
to the Canton men : " If the * Fan-quis ' are such a 
wicked race, how comes it that you are so anxious 
to have their trade to yourselves?" In a week 
afterwards, every foreign vessel in the river was 
cleared of her cargo at remunerating prices. 

Shang-Hae is the principal port in the Empire for 
the export of raw silk. This fact is sufficient of 
itself to proclaim the vast importance of the place. 
The winter here, is described as being very severe ; 
and the cold is said to be so intense, that hundreds of 
the very poorest sort of natives perish in the streets 
from its effect on their half-clad persons. The heat 
of summer is also intense ; which renders the city 
unhealthy, situated as it is in a low, swampy country. 
Yet, I heard of no sickness among the Europeans 
who passed last summer there. 

The Missionaries have not been behind the mer- 
chants in occupying Shang-Hae ; and Mr. Medhurst, 
so well known for his extensive knowledge of Chi- 
nese literature, had completed arrangements for 
removing his family thither in the early part of the 
present summer. He had previously visited the 
place, avowing the object of his visit, and had found 
no difficulty in procuring a commodious house, large 
enough for the comfortable accommodation of his 
family, as well as for a printing establishment, &c. 
Mr. Medhurst has been a personal friend of mine for 



280 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



these twenty years ; and he will believe me when I 
say, that I heartily wish him all the success in his 
mission that he can wish for himself ; but, of his 
success, I have my doubts. 

As to the benefits likely to accrue to the commerce 
of Great Britain from the Treaty lately concluded by 
Sir Henry Pottinger with the Chinese Government, 
I conceive there cfyn be but one opinion, ^although 
the extent of those benefits is as yet uncertain. 
When I express an opinion, not penned in haste or 
without consideration, that the large quantities of 
grey shirtings, white ditto, chintz, cotton yarn, long 
ells, Spanish stripes, fine woollens, camlets, &c. now 
purchased of the British merchants by the Chinese, 
are likely, within the next three years, to be quad- 
rupled, the manufacturers of my country will at 
once perceive what this celebrated Treaty is likely to 
accomplish for them.* We must, moreover, take 
into consideration, the extra tonnage that will be 
required to carry on this extended commerce ; the 
number of seamen it will employ ; the consequent 

* It must be borne in mind, that this was written at sea, before 
I had any knowledge of the reception which Sir Henry Pottinger's 
Treaty had met in Manchester and other manufacturing towns. 
Their subsequent reception of Sir Henry himself, proves how well 
satisfied they are with what he has done for them ; and the extent 
of last summer's exports to China, demonstrates, beyond a doubt, 
that I was not far wrong in my predictions. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



281 



increased demand for every description of stores 
taken to sea for the use of ships and men ; the innu- 
merable families that will thus be provided for ; and 
the not improbable increased demand, over and above 
quadruple the present, for the goods named, when 
the new trade shall have had time thoroughly to 
develop itself. Nor must we overlook the benefit 
likely to result to British India, the cotton of which 
has hitherto been supplied to the Chinese via Can- 
ton : it will now be carried to their doors in British 
vessels, and sold to them at far cheaper rates than 
could have been afforded when sent in the former 
round-about way. Taking this view of the case, it 
stands to reason, that the demand will increase ; and 
though the merchant of Bombay, Madras, or Cal- 
cutta may not make larger profits than heretofore, 
he will do a much larger business, employ double 
the number of men and ships, and enjoy the pro- 
spect of returning to his native country some few 
years sooner than he dreamed of under the old 
regime. 

A trade suddenly thrown open with three hundred 
millions of human beings, is not likely to be com- 
pletely developed in three, four, or five years ; an<J I 
conceive that I am within the mark, when I hold out 
encouragement to my countrymen to quadruple their 
shipments to China. In April, May, and June, 1843, 
before the five ports of China were officially opened to 



282 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



foreign trade, and when visiting them was precarious, 
an unusually large quantity of British and American 
manufactures was poured into the China market. 
Ship after ship arrived from the manufacturing 
districts, with full cargoes; and the universal cry 
was, " What is to be done with all these goods P" 
I can tell the public what became of them. They 
were sold almost as fast as they arrived. Many of 
them were purchased, for the northern ports, by 
speculators, who, to a man, did well with them. 
Prices not only kept up, in spite of the heavy import 
duties, but actually continued to advance till the end 
of the year, when they were twenty per cent, higher 
than when all the cry was, " What is to become of 
these goods ?" This spirited demand for goods at 
Canton and Hong Kong, continued up to March last, 
when I sailed from China. Whether the supply sent 
out this season, has exceeded the demand, or not, I 
have no means of ascertaining, while writing in the 
middle of the Atlantic Ocean ; but I have no fear as 
to the result of any shipments that may have been 
made. 

That the thanks of the mercantile world in ge- 
neral, and of its members in Great Britain in parti- 
cular, are due to Sir Henry Pottinger for the very 
satisfactory conclusion to which he has brought the 
recent disturbances with China, and to Sir Hugh 
Gough and Sir William Parker for the gallant 



IN THE FAR EAST, 



283 



manner in which the warlike portion of the work 
was conducted, every unprejudiced man must allow. 
Though Sir Henry had not left China when I sailed, 
I presume that he will be in England before me via 
Egypt ; and nothing would give me greater pleasure 
on my arrival, than to find that he had been rewarded 
by his Sovereign by being made " Earl Nankin." 
His career has been a brilliant one ; and that he may 
live many years to enjoy the fruits of his exertions, 
must be the wish of all that are likely to benefit 
by them.* 

Whether or not we are shortly to have another 
Chinese war, is a problem I do not pretend to be 
able to solve : there are various opinions on the sub- 
ject ; but my own is, that every thing depends on the 
foreigners themselves. If the Consuls and others 
sent by Government to the five trading ports are firm 
and resolute men, who will never suffer the slightest 
infringement of the Treaty by the Chinese, without 
an energetic remonstrance, — if the captains of ships 
of war stationed at the five ports are strict in main- 
taining order among the masters and crews of the 
shipping of their nation, — if mercantile men take 
care, on the one hand, to give no cause of complaint 

* No such honour has been paid to Sir Henry, though his recep- 
tion by his Sovereign, the Government, and the public, has been 
such as must amply have gratified him and all his friends. 



284 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



by smuggling or otherwise, to the Chinese Authori- 
ties, and, on the other hand, to put up with nothing 
from them that is not borne out by the terms of the 
Treaty; — in short, if foreigners generally (under 
which term I include every person not a Chinese) unite 
together and stand up for the Treaty, the whole Treaty, 
and nothing but the Treaty, — I see no reason to sup- 
pose that it may not work well, and for many years to 
come. On the other hand, if Consuls vacillate in 
their intercourse with the Chinese authorities, — if 
captains of ships of war permit irregularities in the 
conduct of merchant seamen, — and if foreign mer- 
chants condescend to injure their fair fame by smug- 
gling, in place of submitting to the very moderate 
duties imposed upon their trade by the new Chinese 
tariff, — all and Cach of them must take the consequences 
of their conduct ; and they may rest assured, that the 
Chinese will always be ready to seize with avidity 
the slightest opportunity afforded them for charging 
foreigners with a breach of the Treaty. We must 
hope that foreigners resorting to China for the pur- 
poses of trade, or merely as travellers in search of 
health or of strange sights, will be sufficiently aware 
of the importance that is sure to be attached to their 
conduct, to avoid giving the Chinese just cause of 
complaint. Should they be careful on this point, and 
should the amicable relations now existing between 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



285 



the two countries remain uninterrupted, it will not 
take many years to convince the intelligent Chinese, 
that intercourse with what they are pleased to term the 
Barbarian nations of the earth, is not to be despised. 

As for the result of another war, there cannot, I 
imagine, be two opinions. That Great Britain would 
be the victor, and the gainer too, after a struggle of half 
a summer, is pretty certain ; and that she would make 
the Chinese pay dearer for their temerity than they 
were made to do before, seems probable, and would 
be but just. The possession of Chusan and other 
eligible mercantile positions on the coast, would open 
fresh fields for the enterprise of our merchants, and 
for the employment of hundreds of seamen and 
others ; and the fleet and army, after satisfying the 
Chinese that they were as able and as willing to fight 
as ever, might, with great advantage to their country, 
take a trip to Japan, and try to prevail on the ruler of 
that terra incognita to open his ports to foreign com- 
merce. I would tell the Emperor of Japan, You 
shall either be my friend or my foe. If the former, 
you must permit your subjects to trade with my 
people ; and if the latter, you must try your strength 
with me. While there are tens of thousands of un- 
employed operatives in Great Britain, her rulers 
should omit no opportunity of extending her com- 
merce ; and their suffering the Japanese sullenly to 



286 TRADE AND TRAVEL 

exclude our shipping, while the Dutch enjoy the sole 
privilege of trading to their country, seems to me 
putting up with a state of things that ought not to 
exist. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



287 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE 

SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES NEW SETTLEMENT ON 

THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO IMPORTANT DIS- 
COVERY OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST CON- 
CLUDING REMARKS. 

It appears to me, that British commerce in the East, 
requires somewhat more care and attention from the 
Authorities in the mother country, than they have 
hitherto bestowed upon it. The trade carried on by 
British subjects with the Philippines, Siam, and the 
Dutch Colonies, is both extensive and important ; but, 
not unfrequently, it suffers interruption from the 
Government of those countries, to the serious loss 
and inconvenience of the parties concerned. That a 
Consul or other properly authorised functionary is 
required to watch over the interests of British 
merchants trading to Manilla, Bang-kok. Batavia, 
Samarang, and Sourabaya in Java, and Padang on 
the west coast of Sumatra, is evident to every person 
at all acquainted with the trade of those places ; and 



288 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



I will add a few facts by way of satisfying those who 
may be doubtful on the point. 

In the first place, then, British subjects residing in, 
or shipping resorting to Manilla, are subject to the 
most arbitrary proceedings on the part of the Spanish 
Government,* who order merchants from the place, 
and ships from the harbour, at a day's notice, with- 
out ever condescending to state their reasons for such 

* This remark has recently been confirmed beyond the possi- 
bility of denial, by the unjust and cruel sentence passed by the 
Court of J ustice in Manilla, on my esteemed friend, Mr. Robert 
Diggles, who, after having been led into great expense, and kept 
under the surveillance of the police for nearly two years, has been 
tried as a criminal, and sentenced to pay a fine of two thousand 
dollars, and banished the Philippines for six years. And for what, does 
the reader suppose ? For kicking out of his house an impudent Spanish 
tailor who had presented himself there during a ball given by Mr. 
Diggles to Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker and Major-General 
Lord Saltoun, during their visit to Manilla in Her Majesty's ship 
Cornwallis. 

From Lord Saltoun, on his return to Hong Kong, I received an 
account of this matter ; and Mr. Diggles also sent me the particulars 
in writing. From the testimony thus tendered to me by an eye- 
witness whose word cannot for a moment be doubted, and by the 
party principally concerned, in whose word I also place implicit 
confidence, I have no hesitation in making this public declaration, 
that Mr. Diggles has been partially, cruelly, unjustly, disgracefully, 
and tyrannically dealt with by the Government of Manilla. A letter 
I received yesterday from Singapore, gives room to hope that Mr. 
Diggles's banishment has been remitted, which I should be glad to 
hear confirmed, though it would be no adequate reparation for the 
injury he has sustained. — Hull, 1st November 1845. 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



289 



proceedings. It was only the other day that the 
British subjects residing in Manilla were, by an un- 
booked for and arbitrary order of the Governor, de- 
prived of the professional aid of the medical practi- 
tioners of their own country then resident among 
them. These professional men were not, indeed, 
ordered to quit the place ; but they were informed 
by an official proclamation, that no medical man 
would in future be permitted to practice in Manilla, 
unless in possession of a diploma from the college at 
Cadiz. This, of course, was equivalent to an order 
to quit, as no English physician could be expected to 
have such a document in his possession. A friend of 
mine, writing to me on this occasion, represents the 
act as tantamount to a sentence of death upon all 
foreigners resident in the Philippines. While Spa- 
nish surgeons are allowed to practice among their 
countrymen in British Colonies, such a state of 
things ought not for a moment to be suffered by the 
British Government. 

Next, as to Siam. It is well known to every per- 
son acquainted with the trade of that country, that 
its Sovereign, in defiance of all treaties, monopolizes, 
by unjust and tyrannical means, nine-tenths of the 
commerce of his dominions ; that his agents watch for 
and seize every boat that approaches the capital with 
produce; that the produce so seized is carried to the 
King's warehouses ; that he pays whatever price he 

o 



290 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



pleases for the contents of the boat ; that the produce 
so seized is very generally the property of other 
persons, (frequently British subjects,) who have ad- 
vanced money to the planter on his growing crop ; 
that British and other shipping resorting to Bang-kok 
for the purchase of produce, are compelled to buy 
from the King on his own terms, or to leave the port 
in ballast; and finally, that these proceedings are 
in direct opposition to the terms of an existing Treaty 
between Great Britain and Siam. A Consul at 
Bang-kok, and a visit twice a year from one of the 
ships of war cruizing in the China Sea and the Straits 
of Malacca, would put an entire stop to His Siamese 
Majesty's unwarrantable proceedings, as far as British 
subjects are concerned. Let Americans and others 
look after themselves. 

In the Dutch Colonies, also, I can testify from 
personal observation, the British merchant is very 
frequently dealt with not less arbitrarily. The 
Dutch Authorities are not content with prohibiting 
the importation into their Colonies of warlike stores 
and opium, (which they have an undoubted right to 
do,) but their regulations render a ship seizable, that 
enters their ports with either of those forbidden 
articles on board. This seems unreasonably hard 
and it puts the British merchant to expense an 
trouble oftener than may be supposed. A ship 
bound from London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, to 



IN THE FAR EAST. 29 

Batavia and Singapore, (a very common destination,) 
dares not receive on board as freight, either a chest 
of Turkey opium, or a single Birmingham musket. 
If she does, she must give up all idea of calling at 
Batavia, where she would be immediately seized, 
for having such articles on board as cargo. Only four 
years ago, the British barque Acdazeer, bound from 
Bombay to China, with a cargo consisting of thirteen 
hundred chests of opium, was dismasted in a gale in 
the China Sea, and bore up for the port of Soura- 
baya, which she entered in distress, for the purpose 
of repairs, and for stores to enable her to prosecute 
her voyage. My memory does not serve me so as 
to enable me to state, whether the Acdazeers visit to 
Java was before or after the promulgation of the 
law prohibiting ships with opium and warlike stores 
entering any of the ports of Netherlands India; but 
I think it was before that regulation was made 
public. Be that as it may, the ship was in distress ; 
and, as a matter of course, her Commander thought 
he was entering a friendly port. His astonishment 
may be conceived, when he was ordered by the 
Authorities to land all his cargo in the bonded stores, 
before the slightest assistance could be rendered to 
his vessel. What was to be done ? Resistance was 
useless ; and to prosecute his voyage with a disabled 
ship, impracticable. The cargo was accordingly 
landed, and the vessel's repairs were proceeded with. 

o 2 



292 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



When these were finished, the Commander reported 
his being ready to receive his cargo on board again, 
and to proceed on his voyage ; when he was told, 
that, before doing so, he must pay an entrepot duty 
of one per cent, on the whole value. This he was 
compelled to do ; and it amounted to the very con- 
siderable sum of 1300/. All goods landed in bond 
(or entrepot), in any of the ports of His Netherlands 
Majesty's East-Indian territories, are subject to a duty 
of one per cent, on being re-exported ; but who ever 
heard of a ship that had put into harbour in distress, 
being compelled to land her cargo, under the pretence 
that it was to prevent the possibility of any portion 
of it being smuggled, and of its commander being 
afterwards told, that, as the goods had gone into 
entrepot, the duty must be paid ? 

These facts may be sufficient to shew, that the 
appointment of Consuls at the different ports above 
named, is urgently needed as a protection to the 
British shipping visiting them. I have been told, 
that the Spanish and Dutch Governments have re- 
fused to receive or acknowledge Consuls in their 
Eastern possessions. If this is the case, the evil 
might be remedied by a note from Downing Street. 
The other ports of Netherlands India are, perhaps, 
not of sufficient importance, as regards English 
commerce, to authorise the expense of Consular 
appointments. If the opinion of so humble an indi- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



293 



vidual as myself could be supposed to reach the ears 
of the British Premier, I would respectfully but ear- 
nestly call his attention to the foregoing remarks. 

Another subject to which I am anxious to call the 
attention of the British Government, is, the advan- 
tages presented by establishing settlements on the 
north-western and western coasts of the Island of Bor- 
neo. The proceedings of my friend Mr. Brook* at Sa- 
rawak on the western coast, having been made public, 
it is only necessary for me here to remark, that Mr. 
Brook has already paved the way for the advan- 
tageous settlement of a British Colony in his neigh- 
bourhood, and to express a wish that Her Majesty's 
Government may take advantage of his spirited and 
praiseworthy exertions, and reward him for them. 
The influence which he has obtained over the wild 
and intractable natives (as they have been hitherto 
deemed) of that part of Borneo, the service which he 
has rendered to the mercantile interests of his 
country by his exertions in the suppression of piracy, 
the numbers of people whom he has induced literally 
to turn their swords into ploughshares, and the 
quiet, unostentatious way in which all this, and more 
than all this, has been effected, are not less surprising 
than creditable to his abilities, perseverance, and 
public spirit. 



See Appendix II. 



294 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



The recent discovery of extensive veins of coal on 
the banks of the river of Borneo Proper, is my chief 
reason for calling public attention to the north-west- 
ern coast of that island. The destruction by fire of 
the British ship Sultana, on her voyage from Bombay 
to China, and the subsequent imprisonment of Capt. 
Page, his wife, officers, passengers, and crew, by the 
Rajah of Borneo Proper, led to the discovery in ques- 
tion. The Singapore Government, on hearing of 
Capt. Page's captivity, sent a steamer to procure his 
release ; and it was the captain of this steamer who 
discovered the coal, several tons of which he col- 
lected and used on board his vessel. He described 
them to me as being of excellent quality for steamers, 
and to be had in unlimited quantities by simply 
digging away the upper crust of the earth to the 
depth of six inches, under which the coals lie in 
masses. He was moreover informed, by the natives 
in the neighbourhood, (who, by-the-by, never use the 
coals, though they knew that they would burn, and 
called them " Batu Api," or fire-stones,) of the exis- 
tence of much more extensive coal- veins a few miles 
further up the river. He had not time to visit the 
spot, but the natives assured him, that ships might 
be loaded from the surface. Of the depth or extent 
of the veins, they knew nothing; it is, however, 
more than probable, that, on the application of 
proper means, an unlimited supply of coals might be 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



295 



obtained. The importance of such a supply, now 
that Steam communication between Calcutta and 
Singapore has been established, and that the line will 
in all probability be shortly extended to China, re- 
quires no demonstration. In the event of a regular 
monthly overland mail being despatched from Hong 
Kong, to join the Calcutta line at Point de Galle* 
(Ceylon), it would not be out of the steamers way, 
to touch and coal at Borneo : thence proceeding to 
Singapore, where she would not require coals, she 
would take in the mail, and proceed on her voyage. 
This plan would save the expense of forming a coal 
depdt at Singapore. All Her Majesty's steamers on 
the coast of China might be supplied with fuel from 
the same quarter, particularly as several empty ships 
go to China every season in search of freights home- 
ward, which would gladly call at Borneo en route, 
and take in a cargo of coals, to be delivered at Hong 
Kong, at a moderate rate per ton. To establish this 
coal trade on a permanent footing, a treaty would 
require to be entered into with the Sultan of Borneo. 
This, I have no hesitation in saying, might be effected, 
and the requisite arrangements made with the Bor- 
neo Authorities by Mr. Brook, whose influence in that 
quarter is deservedly all-powerful. An establishment 



* 1846 ; now in full operation. Vide Appendix I. p. 303. 



296 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



placed there, the chief or superintendent of which 
might be invested with Consular powers, would ma- 
nage the coal business, and protect any unfortunate 
shipwrecked British seamen from ill treatment si- 
milar to that sustained by the captain and crew of the 
Sultana. So many vessels have from time to time 
disappeared and never been heard of, between Singa- 
pore and China, as to render it far from improbable, 
that there are numbers of British subjects now in con- 
finement on the northern coasts of Borneo and Pa- 
lawan. This probable or, at least, supposable case 
furnishes an additional argument in favour of placing 
some party, armed with power to protect such unfor- 
tunate persons, in some convenient spot in the neigh- 
bourhood. When I say, armed with power, I do not 
mean that arms should be put into the hands of 
those stationed to manage the coal-mines at Borneo, 
but that their superintendent should be empowered 
to use energetic language, and threats if need be, in 
the name of the British Government. The magic of 
a name is nowhere felt or understood more than 
among these same savages ; in proof of which I may 
mention, that the Rajah of Borneo Proper gave up 
Capt. Page and his crew immediately on their being 
demanded in the name of the Governor of Singa- 
pore, though he had refused to listen for a mo- 
ment to the proposals and demands previously con- 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



297 



veyed by a well-armed schooner sent by Mr. Brook 
from Sarawak to treat for the release of the Sul- 
tana's people, on hearing of their captivity. Even 
His Majesty of Siam stands in awe of the British 
name ; and I could tell instances of his having paid 
deference to a few lines from the Singapore Autho- 
rities. 

The ships of war in these seas are too much in 
harbour ; they might be far better employed in 
occasional visits to the different ports of Borneo, 
Palawan, the eastern coast of the Malayan Peninsula, 
Siam, and Cochin China. Visits to those countries 
twice or thrice a year, would not interfere in the 
slightest degree with their regular duty ; it ought, 
indeed, to form part of it ; and would be of incalcu- 
lable value to British merchants. The Authorities of 
those different States, knowing that the visits of 
British ships of war were to be regular and frequent 
in future, would be cautious how they meddled with 
British subjects. With all the gasconade common to 
Orientals generally, the chiefs of the countries I 
have mentioned, are cowards at heart, tyrants as they 
are when opportunity offers; and they dread the 
sight of a ship of war in their harbours. No better 
check could be kept upon their conduct; and the plan 
proposed would not cost Great Britain a shilling, 
inasmuch as the ships required to carry it into exe- 
cution, are in commission, and, as Isaidbefore* spend 
o 3 



298 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



far too much time in port. Such a catastrophe as 
the loss of the Golconda, with four hundred souls 
on board, ought to be sufficient to call forth the 
utmost exertions on the part of our naval officers in 
the China Sea. This ship, a vessel of 800 tons, sailed 
from Singapore in September 1840 (or 1841), bound 
to China, with the head-quarters of the 37th Madras 
Native Infantry on board, and has never since been 
heard of. In my humble opinion, the China Sea and 
its coasts ought to have been thoroughly searched 
for any remains of this unfortunate ship, it being far 
from impossible, that some of her people may be in 
existence in Cochin China or on the neighbouring 
coasts or islands. When the unfortunate barque 
Fifeshire disappeared in the same mysterious way, 
on the same voyage, three of her men turned up 
from Cochin China, twelve months after she had 
been given up and paid for by the underwriters. 
No endeavour was made to trace the Golconda, — 
wherefore, let those explain, who had it in their 
power to cause due search to be made. Being un- 
able to divine their reasons, I hope, for their own 
sakes, they were sufficient to quiet their own con- 
sciences. 

My wanderings are drawing near a close, and I 
have little more to say. On our passage down the 
China Sea, during the prevailing very light south- 
erly winds of April, we exhausted a large portion of 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



299 



our fresh stock; and for replenishing it and our 
water we touched in Anjer Roads, of which, and 
the village of the same name, I shall now give a 
brief sketch. 

Nothing can be prettier than the sail into Anjer 
Roads from the northward, on a fine clear day. The 
scenery is equal to any thing I have ever seen. On 
your right, rises the high land of Sumatra, covered 
with wood to the very summit, and exhibiting all 
the different shades of green ; on your left, are St. 
Nicholas Point and the high land of Java ; while the 
two little isles called, "Cap and Button," add their 
minute features to the landscape. The land in this 
part of Java, though well wooded, is not covered 
with timber so thickly as the opposite coast of Suma- 
tra ; but, here and there, the scene is diversified by 
a clearing, where the Javanese may be seen at work in 
his rice-field, yam-patch, vegetable garden, or pinery. 
In front, the island of " Thwart-the-way 11 (well 
named, for it is right in mid-channel) relieves the 
eye from the glare of the sea ; which, in these low 
latitudes, is a matter of some moment ; while, further 
seaward, may be seen towering far above the sur- 
rounding objects, the islands of Pulo Bissie and 
Crockatooa, both visible from a great distance, and 
forming excellent land-marks for the mariner. On 
nearing the anchorage, the pretty little village of 
Anjer strikes the eye, its huts built in rows, and 



300 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



shaded by palms and other trees ; the Dutch Resi- 
dent's house, the fort, and the wharf, are all in view ; 
and further back, about a mile from the sea, may be 
seen the tomb, erected by his shipmates, to the 

memory of Dr. , Assistant Surgeon of H. M. S. 

Alceste. The inscription informs the stranger, that 

Dr. died here on his return from China, after 

the wreck of the Alceste. This tomb was the first 
thing that attracted my attention when I landed at 
Anjer in 1823, and has ever since been an object of 
interest to me. Anjer is a very convenient place for 
ships bound from China or Singapore for Europe to 
touch at for supplies, although many ship-masters 
avoid it during the prevalence of the north-west 
monsoon, when it is a lee shore. I have anchored 
there at all seasons of the year, and never found any 
difficulty in getting out of the harbour ; but others 
have been less fortunate, and have got among the 
rocks. Here, the natives come off to passing ships, 
and bring fowls at two rupees per dozen ; (a rupee 
here is equal to Is. Sd. sterling:) ducks at three 
rupees per dozen ; good-sized turtle one dollar each ; 
yams one dollar per pecul of 133 lbs. ; eggs one 
dollar per hundred ; and other articles in proportion. 
They are very fond of visiting an English ship, as 
they generally get paid by her Commander in Spa- 
nish or other dollars ; a coin held in universal estima- 
tion in those parts. In my frequent visits to Anjer, 



IN THE FAR EAST. 



301 



I have invariably met with a polite and hospitable 
reception from the Dutch Resident, (the chief Civil 
authority,) who has always been willing and ready 
to render any aid in his power to strangers. 

Anjer, with all its beauties of scenery, is said to be 
unhealthy in the rainy season, when the showers and 
thunder-storms are both frequent and heavy: its 
natives are a puny race, and its European inhabi- 
tants look pale and sickly ; so that, I suppose, it de- 
serves the doubtful reputation generally given to it. 

During my last ramble in the vicinity of Anjer, I 
observed some natives at work in a plantation of 
young plants which, at first sight, and from their 
being sheltered from the sun by tall, wild-cotton 
trees, I took for coffee. On inquiring of the overseer, 
and looking more closely at the plants, I found they 
were young cinnamon-trees. The attention of the 
Dutch Government has long been given to the culti- 
vation of this spice; and, from the very healthy 
appearance of the plants just mentioned, I should 
think that the ultimate success of the undertaking 
was far from doubtful. It will not surprise me to see, 
before ten years have elapsed, Java rivalling Ceylon 
in cinnamon, as it is now competing with Bengal 
in indigo. 

The Strait of Sunda, in which Anjer is situated, is 
certainly a beautiful channel for ships to sail through 
in fine weather, though, from the strength of its 



302 



TRADE AND TRAVEL 



currents, an uglier place in a dark, squally night could 
scarcely be found. It used to be notorious for Malay 
pirates, but has been, of late years, clear of those 
pests. 

Talking of pirates, I may mention my own good 
fortune in never having fallen in with any of the 
fraternity in the many voyages I have made in the 
lake-like seas of the Malayan or Eastern Archipelago. 
This, however, does not tend to prove their non- 
existence in even recent days. 

Having completed our stores at Anjer, we sailed 
with a fair wind about 3 p.m. on the 14th May, and, 
next morning, were rolling about in a heavy sea off 
Java Head, (a bold and grand promontory forming 
the south-west corner of the Island,) where I bade 
adieu to my favourite sunny climes of the Far East. 



APPENDIX I. 

{See p. 295.) 



303 




304 



APPENDIX I. 



Mem. — I have adopted an average rate of seven miles per hour 
as a fair estimate of the speed that well-appointed Steam Vessels, of 
moderate size and power, will be enabled to accomplish and main- 
tain, throughout the proposed route, at all seasons of the year ; for, 
during the whole distance from Penang to Aden, and vice versa, nei- 
ther monsoon, from the course steered, becomes at any period a 
directly adverse wind ; an advantage which the route hitherto ob- 
served does not possess. Assuming that the Honourable East-India 
Company continue the management of the Bombay line, and that 
the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company are encou- 
raged to render their operations more comprehensive, by the esta- 
blishment of Branch Steamers between Ceylon and Singapore, to 
which latter Port Her Majesty's Steam Vessels on the China Station 
could convey the Mails from Hong Kong, this all-important object 
might, without difficulty, be attained. The advantages to the Straits' 
Settlements, consequent on the adoption of improved arrangements, 
require no comment ; and the practicability of effecting a very con- 
siderable acceleration of the communication with China, is evident 
from the simple fact, that the average interval which has occurred 
in the transmission of letters from China, by the last twenty Over- 
land Mails, (irrespective of the unfortunate July Mail from Bombay,) 
exceeds the period occasionally occupied Jby fast-sailing ships, in 
accomplishing the voyage via the Cape of^ood Hope. 

London, Sept. 14, 1843. Henry Wise. 

P.S.— Oct. 9, 1843.— The arrival at Suez, on the 16th ult, of the 
H. C. S. Akbar, in forty-six days from Hong Kong, after accom- 
plishing the passage down the China Seas, against the S.-W. mon- 
soon, — unassisted also by any previously arranged facilities for coal- 
ing, exchange of Steamers at Aden, and other manifest advantages 
requisite for the proper execution of this important service, — con- 
firms the correctness of my estimate for performing the voyage from 
Hong Kong to Suez, or vice versa, viz. forty-three days, including 
stoppages. — H. W. 



305 



APPENDIX II. 



MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOK'S 
SETTLEMENT ON THAT ISLAND. 

Mr. Brook has no warmer admirer than myself; 
and I trust the territory of Sarawak, which has been 
ceded to him by the Sultan of Borneo, will eventually 
become a flourishing British Colony. 

The Government of this country cannot but be 
fully alive to the value of such a point on the north- 
west coast of Borneo with reference to the protection 
and security of the vast trade carried on by British 
subjects to and from China; not to mention the 
great intrinsic advantages of an establishment on 
one of the largest and most valuable islands in the 
world. Little or nothing is yet known of the inte- 
rior of this vast country; but what we do know 
already with regard to several portions of its coast 
must lead us to the conclusion that it will one dav 
become of infinite importance in a political as well 
as commercial point of view. There is reason to 
believe that it contains the most rich, varied, and 
extensive mineral deposits, and is capable of pro- 



306 



APPENDIX II. 



ducing, in the greatest abundance, every variety of 
tropical production, including some that appear to 
be peculiar to its soil and climate. Protection from 
the complicated evils of piracy and oppression is 
alone wanting in order to stimulate the growth and 
industry of the population, and to give a new aspect 
to the face of this fertile region. The very fact of a 
British Settlement being established would exercise 
a most powerful influence in bringing together all 
the elements of a rapid civilization amongst a people 
at present the prey of ignorance, superstition, and 
oppression. Considering the smallness of the means 
at his disposal Mr. Brook has already done much : 
the seeds have been sown, and, up to a point, nou- 
rished by the force of his character; for their further 
development the influence of the British Govern- 
ment unreservedly exercised, but with due caution, 
is alone required. 

As one of the very best means of defence against 
riot or disturbance in a country like Sarawak, whether 
held by Queen Victoria or by my friend Brook, I 
would recommend the raising of a corps of Hill 
Rangers, to be composed of 400 or 500 natives of 
the country, in their native dress ; distinguished from 
their countrymen simply by a belt thrown over the 
shoulder, with S. H. R.* on a brass plate in the middle 



* i.e. Sarawak Hill Bangers. 



APPENDIX II. 



307 



of it, and a small sword by their side; the whole 
under a European captain, four lieutenants, and a 
dozen native jimedars. Ten guilders per month, 
allowed as pay to each man, would secure the choice 
of the population ; and no force would equal them for 
the maintenance of peace in such a country. Sir 
Stamford Raffles tried a similar plan at Bencoolen, 
and found it answer admirably. I need say no more 
in its favour. No better man exists for raising 
and organizing such a corps, than Mr. Brook him- 
self: witness his performances of a similar nature 
during the Burmese war. These Hill Rangers must 
be divided into companies, and should be stationed 
at convenient places throughout the country, to keep 
their eyes on evil-doers, and to act as police-men 
more than as soldiers. Their captain must be loco- 
motive, and superintend the whole corps. 

I will now proceed to state my ideas as to the 
way in which Mr. Brook can most profitably avail 
himself of the extensive territory of Sarawak. In 
the first place, he must have the whole District 
competently and correctly surveyed, and laid out 
in portions (not of square miles, New-South- Wales- 
fashion, without any regard to natural boundaries, 
but) of different sizes according to the topographical 
features of the country. On the completion of this 
survey, the plan or map should be lithographed, 
to exhibit to parties intending to purchase or hold 



308 



APPENDIX IT. 



land. Mr. Brook should then publish in India his 
intentions, giving a sketch of the facilities he can 
offer, of the capabilities of the country, &c. &c. &c. 
Tenants will not suit him, in my opinion, so well 
as purchasers. The possession will be too un- 
wieldy for him to hold, even as landlord : I speak 
from my experience in Java. The purchasers he 
wants, are men of capital, say from 5000/. to 
10,000/. each, to whom he must give credit for the 
land, and leave them unhampered to carry on their 
operations. All lands fit for the growth of coffee or 
sugar must be worked by these capitalists on their 
own account: they must send to Java for expe- 
rienced overseers, (Europeans,) to conduct the 
works ; and to Bally, Lombok, or the Coromandel 
coast, for labourers. The natives of the former two 
are preferable, but, I fear, could not be obtained in 
sufficient numbers. Not a China-man should be 
employed on an estate of mine as a field-labourer, 
though the Chinese answer remarkably well, under 
Europeans, in sugar-mills. An experienced overseer 
from Java will point out to them the best lands for 
coffee and sugar, and the best modes of planting and 
rearing both. It is also a very good plan, to con- 
tract with a party to grow the cane, (the proprietor 
helping him with small advances,) which the land- 
lord engages to take at so much per thousand when 
ripe, to be delivered at the mill door. The grower, 



APPENDIX II. 



309 



in such cases, is generally a poor man, and require 
aid for the first year, to buy buffaloes, ploughs, and 
provisions. In Java, nine-tenths of the cane are pro- 
duced in this way ; and the landlord saves both risk 
and trouble by it. No cane, no pay, is the rule 
there; so that, although the mill-owner may lose 
his time in a bad season, he sacrifices no outlay. 
The Chinese cannot be trusted to manufacture the 
sugar: they are conceited bunglers at that work, 
as stubborn as mules, and use too much lime, in 
spite of all one can say or do to prevent it. Coffee 
may also be planted by contract; though, in Java, 
where men can be got for three guilders per month 
and their rice, worth two guilders more, the plan is 
not generally adopted. 

A party purchasing land, ought to have it selected 
so as to have portions of it fit for coffee, sugar, and 
rice, and to try all three. In rice-cultivation, a dif- 
ferent plan, however, must be pursued. In Java, a 
proprietor of rice-land encourages as many people to 
sit down on his property as he can possibly obtain ; 
charges them no rent in money, but helps them each to 
build a hut ; lends them money to buy two buffaloes ; 
and gives them rations of rice and salt for the first 
twelve months ; taking care, in the meantime, that 
the man, his wife, and his children are as busy as 
bees, planting and looking after a few rice-fields, — 
the more the better ; seeing also, that the family do a 



310 



APPENDIX II. 



fair day's work, and as much as they are well able to 
perform. From these fields, when harvest arrives, the 
squatter will pay his rent. And then is the time that 
the European overseer and his deputies require to 
have their eyes open, in order to see that fair play is 
dealt to the proprietor, who is entitled to one-fourth 
of the crop, by way of rent, delivered in bundles of 
paddy, at his barn-door, by the grower. The reaping 
and binding must be watched, and the bundles be 
counted on the field ; otherwise the grower will, pro- 
bably, carry more than his share to his own barn, in 
place of his masters. Now is the time, also, if the 
season has been a favourable one, to make the squat- 
ter pay off the whole, or a portion of his debt, for 
the advance made to him early in the year. If he 
gets well through the first year, he will, in all proba- 
bility, take a liking to the place, and fix himself 
there for good. One of the very best plans for at- 
taching Javanese to their residence on an estate, is, 
to see that lots of cocoa-nut and betel-nut trees are 
planted in every desirable locality. With half a 
dozen cocoa-nut trees, even in a bad season, a native 
family will manage tolerably well ; and in all my 
wanderings among the Malayan islands, I never came 
to a place where even a single cocoa-nut was not 
current, like money, for its full value in rice. Another 
great advantage arising to the proprietor from rice- 
grounds well- occupied, is, that he is entitled, by im- 



APPENDIX II. 



311 



memorial custom, to the labour of every male on the 
estate one day in seven, in virtue of a sort of feudal law. 
A friend of mine in Java, on whose estate were fifteen 
thousand adults, seven thousand of whom were males, 
had thus the command of the labour of one thousand 
men per day free. On a new estate, these are the 
men to clear jungle, to make roads, to trim coffee- 
trees, and to take a turn with a hoe among the sugar- 
canes, when the hired labourers are busy a' u crop 
time, or when, from any other cause, labour may be 
scarce. 

Mr. Brook must take things leisurely. Let one 
capitalist be established with a fair prospect, and he 
will soon be followed by dozens, who will gradually 
creep into the forests,, and make the place a second 
Java. Before these capitalists make their appear- 
ance, however, he must, by every means in his 
power, encourage squatters, and get them to work 
on patches of rice-land, here and there. Let him 
but treat those men kindly, help them through the 
first year, and set them fairly on their legs ; they 
will then never leave the place. 

Touching the diamond and gold mines which Mr. 
Brook wants to work, I hardly know what to advise, 
but think that his best plan would be, to get my 
friend Tok Sing, or some other wealthy China-man 
in Singapore, to procure him "head men," whom he 
would secure, i.e. bind himself to make good any 



312 



APPENDIX II. 



thing lost or stolen by them. This, of course, he 
would not do gratis ; but his guarantee in such an 
undertaking would be invaluable: his wealth is very 
considerable, while his name and influence would be 
beyond calculation useful. 

Over every thing, Mr. Brook must himself keep a 
watchful eye; and, above all things, he must keep the 
peace. He must not attempt too much at first ; but 
must raise his Rangers as they may be required ; 
and, with his talent for such operations, a moderate 
share of patience and perseverance, and sufficient 
capital, all will go well, and he will meet with the 
complete success that he so richly merits. 



THE END. 



WILLIAM WATTS, PRINTER, CROWN COURT, TEMPLE BAR. 



2 1904 \ 



